Codename: Cailan
by TallieRose
Summary: She blinked blood from her eyes. Pain like this had never racked her body. The crowbar hit again and she grunted,sputtering a syrupy mix of blood and saliva. She squeezed her eyes tight. She had to be strong; anything for him. KaldurxOC Read and review Finished
1. Presently

July 13th, Friday 11:47pm:

"And now boys and girls, Uncle Joker is going to show you all why being friends with superheroes is _bad for your health._" Joker laughed maniacally into the camera streaming live footage to the world's database.

The hand-held camcorder wobbled around as the cameraman moved from Joker's hideous face to where the twisted villain had grandiosely gestured like a sickly Vana White. All that the camera showed was a chair in the glare of a solitary overhanging light, surrounded by the dark and by shadowed figures. Joker was still laughing, pacing like an animal around the chair, his yellowed teeth exposed in a horrendous grin, hands behind his back. The billions of viewers around the world thought 'it must be a joke!' 'this is just some publicity stunt for the Justice League'. The people of the world had no idea as they watched from their living rooms that the subject of this grotesquery was very real indeed.

The League itself, and its youthful counterpart, were dumbfounded as to how an insane villain—clever in tricks and treachery, to be sure—had managed to hack the entire world. The resources, man power and knowledge to pull something like this off were, seemingly, beyond the capabilities of the Dark Knight's nemesis.

"Here we have a known affiliate of the pompous _heroes_, and their pathetic little team of sidekicks. Why don't you say hello to those responsible for your being here hm…_Cailan?" _

The mouths of the members of the Young Justice team dropped. It was some trick of the camera, it was a sick lesson the League members were trying to teach them. Their Cailan was not sitting with her hands tied behind her back in the middle of what was doubtlessly going to become a torture room. Their Cailan was not going to be subjected to untold pains—on their account—in just a few moments. Their Cailan wasn't being tested on her loyalty to them, before their very eyes.

"On tonight's segment, we're going to learn a few things. See, little Ms. Cailan here—the beautiful protégé of Gothem city's very own Bruce Wayne—knows some very personal details about the 'heroes' who plague this world. And my men and I are very talented at gaining that kind of information; young Cailan here is going to tell us who our heroes _really _are."

As he talked, the Joker paced around Cailan, eventually picking up an iron pipe and dragging it along the floor. He tapped it in his hand and grinned in the insane manner that only suited him. As he talked he leered over Cailan who sat, eyes closed and mouth duct-taped, as calmly as possible.

"But before we can get to the really juicy stuff, we have to make sure we can trust what she says." Joker gave no warning as he let the pipe loose, right into Cailan's stomach.

There was a muffled huff as she doubled over—as far as her bonds allowed; her eyes squeezed shut. People who'd been walking down the streets of Gothem in late night shopping stopped and watched the screens and televisions in windows with wide eyes. Metropolis civilians held baited breath as they sat, clutching each other.

Cackling rang out over the sound waves. "Oops, did I do that?"

…

Kaldur watched as Joker's defiling hands tore the tape from Cailan's mouth. The world watched her gasp for breath.

"Now, is your name Cailan Leal?"

The team—the world—was surprised to hear her gasp out a laugh. "No, I'm the freaking Queen of Sheba."

"…Cailan…no…" Robin begged under his breath; he knew any second a call would be coming in from Batman to—

"Aqualad, under no circumstances are you or the others to go after her; that's an order. Leave it to us." Batman growled, his image temporarily overlaying that of the Joker's broadcast.

The teens only half listened; the grin on Joker's face had grown bigger and the pipe came down to the side of Cailan's face. "Tsk, tsk, tsk." He chortled.

The Joker forced her head up. "Now, Cailan, what is your name?"

"Just tell him!" Robin shouted at the screen despite the impossibilities of her actually hearing him. "This guy doesn't mess around!"

The hand held zoomed in on her face; they watched her jaw jump, her eyes flash in anger and calculations. "Cailan Leal."

They breathed a sigh of relief. "What are we going to do?" Wally asked, his eyes shattered.

"We wait, like Batman said." Robin hardly murmured.

"He's going to kill her!" Superboy shouted, his eyes pained; he was watching some freak beat on the girl he considered family. That was not tolerable.

"…no, he won't, the League will save her…won't they Kaldur?" Megan asked, turning to the sea-boy, like the rest of the team, questioning Cailan's fate, wondering what they could do.

…

Cailan bit her tongue; she wouldn't give them up. Nothing was going to get her to talk. Not even the freak looming over her, needle in his gloved hand, grin on his face. She wouldn't give up the only family she'd even known.


	2. Ten Months Ago

_**A/N: sorry for all of the editing and switching. The wrong chapter was uploaded first for some reason. Please be patient with me while I get things sorted and please remember to review. Thank you so much for reading! **_

[_Ten months ago…]_

Aug. 13th, Friday 3:30pm:

"C'mon guys, it'll be a blast! We get out of the 'layer', away from all the estrogen, have some fun and…lookathotgirls…what could be better?" Wally laughed, trying not to blush from admitting his ulterior motive behind inviting the other guys to the pool party.

"Wait a second—this is totally bout that one girl, isn't it?" Dick questioned, giving Wally the stink-eye. "The one from school, what's her name?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," the former boy protested shrugging innocently, tossing a towel over his shoulder."

"What girl," Conner questioned, his interest peaked; Megan had been aloof and distant from the team lately, and he had begun to think that he'd done something wrong.

"Oohnly the most popular and untouchable girl in school." Dick leered at Wally, tying his swim-trunks. "Uh, Katie…Kerry…Carly—"

"Cailan Leal." The red-head snapped, irritated that Dick had gotten it wrong.

"Yeah, her!"

"You, like her Wally?" Kaldur asked gently, smiling.

The other boy groaned and nodded, walking towards the portal to the outside world. "She's perfect—like, _beyond_ perfect!"

As the four walked towards the outside, and then proceeded normally down the street, Wally and Dick filled the other two in on Cailan Leal.

…

She was a cheerleader—though, from what the two said she was a walking contradiction. Her freshman year she had tried out and bumped several older girls out of their positions. Her sophomore year she was co-captain of the team, and was currently _the_ captain. She attended Wayne academy on scholarship. She knew everyone, and by everyone they meant, truly, _everyone_. What was more, she never had anything bad to say about anyone.

Cailan—Calie as she went by—was on the dance team and gymnastics.

"—but, the best part is that she's so nice." Wally said, enthused.

"Tch. Right, maybe she _acts _nice, but she's really just like all the other cheerleaders Wally. She's probably stuck-up and only cares about her hair and nails." Dick laughed, rolling his eyes.

"She is not! Mrs. Sanders made me get a tutor during lunch and I ended up having Calie and…she was… What?" he asked, eyes wide.

"You, my friend, are what we call infatuated." Kaldur laughed good naturedly.

"I'll bet you'd never talk to her on your own," The boy-wander teased, nudging Wally in the ribs as they walked to the backyard of a ritzy house and down to the patio.

Wally didn't get to answer. They were greeted with waves and calls from other friends; when Wally said party, he didn't know that it would be half the school there. Kaldur—Kal—and Conner were quickly introduced and left to fend for themselves as they were swallowed up by underclassmen girls ooing and awing at their muscles and chiseled looks.

Kaldur took full advantage of being in the water; it was not as pure as the ocean, like he was used to, but even pools gave him a sense of being home.

…

"Dude, just go talk to her, seriously. I'm getting kind of tired of wiping your drool off my seat," Dick harassed Wally; Kaldur toweled and looked around, spying Conner trying to lose some hang-on girls at the food table.

"I will…I mean…just give me a moment."

"So, which one is this Cailan you are so taken with?" Kaldur laughed, sitting down with the other two.

"She's over there," Dick nodded back behind him to a group of girls, all in bikini bathing suits, and all looking remarkably similar. Except that, behind the long, tanned limbs and highlighted hair and designer suits, Kaldur saw a girl who almost didn't belong. "The one in the green suit,"

"…oh…" was all Kaldur could say.

There wasn't much else for him to say; the girl was pretty, just as the two had said. He glanced again at the grouping of girls when he heard a tittering of laughter; a few were looking at him bashfully and whispering hurriedly to Calie. From the corner of his eye he saw her blush and glance over, and then shake her head softly.

"Hey!" she laughed, arching; someone had splashed her from behind.

Kaldur watched her bend down and splash back and talk with some guys. There was a slight drop inside Aqualad's mind; he supposed she _would_ be one of those girls. He watched her walk over and get a volleyball, tossing it to the guys she'd been talking to; water polo. As she walked back Dick pushed Wally into her, almost knocking her into the pool.

"Woah!" she stumbled, catching herself on Wally's arm. "Oh, hey Wally,"

"I am SO sorry I—I d—didn't mean…uh, hi," Kaldur tried to keep from laughing as he listened, he took note that she'd remembered his friend's name.

"It's cool, I'm not made of glass," she joked; she had a sweet, lopsided smile. "It's cool to see you here,"

"T-thanks, yeah, my friends and I were kinda just cruising around, figured we'd grace the place ya know?"

"Ah, so you're crashing eh?"

Beside Kaldur Dick rolled his eyes and got an ornery look on his face; before the leader could do more he'd entered Wally's conversation.

"Yeah, Wally and I were making this bet," he'd started saying, "Only he had to chicken out 'cause he doesn't know how to dive so we were thinking you could teach him."

"Oh, sure—"

"Calie, what are you doing?" Another boy walked up and stood close to her, squaring his shoulders out.

"…heh, talking Jake, what does it look like?" she laughed it off.

"Hey, why don't you come play chicken with us, leave the…uh…kids, to their bet?"

"…hmmmm…" Kaldur narrowed her eyes as she purred, turning to him. "That does sound pretty good, but—"

There was a loud splash and the two boys stood shocked. "I think that you need to cool off first." She finished, smiling at the edge of the pool. "C'mon Wally, still wanna learn to dive?"

Kaldur admired the way she turned to his friend and took his arm gently; she'd had no reason to do what she'd done.

…

"Uh, hey," Kaldur turned at the words, not sure who to address; the girl from before—Calie—stood behind him.

"Hello,"

"You're Wally's friend, right? Heh, I really like your tattoos."

"My—oh, uh, thank you."

"…uh, I'm Cailan—Calie, friends call me Calie." She let out a nervous laugh and then looked up and looked him in the eye.

"I am Kal." He stopped short, knowing his name was strange on the surface world.

"You don't go to Gothem Academy, do you?" she asked, shaking his hand.

"No I do not. Wally and I met…uh, through Dick, actually." Kal rolled his head to the younger boys.

"That's cool; I don't really know Dick, he's kind of aloof sometimes, but Wally is really sweet. He seems to know everyone." She smiled and nodded to the chair next to her, a question to sit down.

"Of course," Kal gestured to the chair. "You know, it is funny; they say the same about you,"

Aqualad knew that he was testing the waters; he wanted to know this Calie for himself. Wally saw only with eyes clouded in admiration and Dick held everyone in a suspicious light. Kal wanted to assess her for himself.

"Really? Heh…I guess I do talk with a bunch of people—I hadn't really noticed I guess. I'm just a people-person." She was smiling across from him; he heard a genuine tone in her voice. "So, you're older than the other two…how is it you know them?"

"We have the same hobbies, and are in…clubs—outside of school. I met the two there." It wasn't a lie, exactly. Being a super hero wasn't a club, but it was exclusive.

"Swimming one of them? You looked really good in the pool, you on your school's team?" Conversation came easily to this girl and she was relaxed no matter who she was talking to or what they were doing. She had a simpleness about her that Kal felt relieved to be around. She didn't need to fidget or ramble or to be surrounded by everything at once. Sitting and breathing seemed enough for her, and talking was an added pleasure.

"Uh, no, not exactly. I suppose for me swimming is…more of a way of life,"

"Hah, I get it. I feel that way about dancing," she said; he knew she'd misunderstood, but how could she not? It wasn't as if he had 'I'm amphibious' tattooed across his face.

They both shared a chuckle, relaxing in the fading sun of the evening. She hugged her towel closer to her shoulders and crossed her legs; Kaldur noticed a thin band around her ankle. It looked to be of silver, but closer inspection lent that it was indeed of green hue and the same consistency as string. There were mother-of-pearl beads on either side of the band—he now noticed it was braided—and in the center of these was a very distinct and very rare pale, blue shell. Kaldur felt himself pause and stare hard at the anklet she wore; he knew it was, and yet, it couldn't be.

The craftsmanship was remarkable, and rightly so. Atlantian jewelry was impeccable in every sense of the word. What he couldn't figure out was how she'd gotten her hands on it.

"…Kal?" she asked, for the whatever-th time—he couldn't be sure—snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was…admiring your jewelry…it is very finely crafted. Where did you get it?" he smiled at her, longing to read the reaction of her face for lies or secrets.

"Huh? Oh! Are you in jewelry class or something? My friend, Sam, asks to see it all the time. Actually, I don't remember where I got it—I've never taken it off. Honestly, the only time I ever even untie the strings is when it's gotten too tight because I've grown."

If she was lying he was unable to see it in her action or her words. "It must hold a great deal of value…"

"…well, none that I'm aware of. I mean…heh, it's gonna sound stupid but…I like to pretend that my parents left it to me when I was a baby. All that it's worth—to my knowledge—is a few memories that I'm not even sure are real memories."

"Your parents—"

"Calie! Come play volleyball!" "Yeah, we need even teams!" "Only if it's on our side—" "No way, your team's full!"

"Wanna come play Kal?" she asked, their previous conversation left to the past.

"No, I think my friends and I will be leaving soon," Kaldur was looking to Conner, whom he could see was getting more and more irritated with the girls harassing him and guys sizing him up.

"Oh, alright, well, tell Wally and Dick I'll see'em at school…and, maybe I'll catch you around…"

Kaldur watched her smile and leave, heading towards the group of people who looked the same, to where she almost didn't fit in.

…

"Hello Megan!" the young Martian said, hitting her forehead. "We can just use their cell's phone-signal to find them!"

"Find who babe?" Kidflash asked, zooming next to the redhead, already dry from his day at the pool.

"…well, no need for the trouble now," Artemis said, rolling her eyes at Wally's attention to Megan. "Where did you guys go, anyway?"

"Rob and I took these two awkward ducks to a party to show them how we normal folk live," Wally winked, making light of the situation.

"Gee, thanks for inviting us. What was the point of that, anyways, it isn't like they'll—"

"Superboy and I may be joining Robin and Wally at Gothem Academy," Kaldur said, indifferently.

Artemis arched an eyebrow. "You mean you'll be joining US at G.A." she said haughtily, not appreciating that she'd been left out.

"He said maybe, didn't he?" Superboy said, rummaging in the fridge.

"You went to a party?" Megan asked, her tone indicating that she felt left out.

This, of course, put Wally in a slight predicament; he liked Megan, and yet he'd taken the guys to introduce them to the girl he couldn't get enough of at school. He looked around at the guys for help, hating to let Megan down.

"Just, ya know, some guy-time. Don't you girls have that…uh…ya know, chick thing you do?"

"Girl's night out?" Dick supplied him with.

"Yeah!"

"…Oh, hello Megan!" the alien said, grinning. "We _should_ do that, Artemis! You could teach me how to be an Earth girl!"


	3. Beginnings

August 26th, Monday, 8:00 Am

"I cannot believe we're stuck in school already!" Wally groaned across the desks to Robin.

"Relax. It's not that long of a day. Besides, we might get out early for…well, appointments and stuff later on." Dick stretched his arms behind his head and yawned. If he needed to he could hack into the school system and give himself the day off—Batman might not like that, but he'd never gotten into trouble…at least, not yet.

"That's easy for you to say," Wally grumbled slouching in his seat; he was smart, sure, but school was suffocating. Not to mention that, once he could see her every day, he couldn't stop looking for Calie in the halls.

"You heard anything about Kal or Conner—they gonna come or not?" Wally hissed, leaning as far as he could over the bar of the desk.

"Wally, if you must talk you can do so with the principal." The teacher barked from the front of the room, squeakily writing down some notes on the board.

…

"Hey! Artemis!" Dick called, tossing his hand in the air.

"How's it been going?"

"Alright. Wally can't seem to adjust though," the boy laughed, giving her a side glance.

"That's not surprising." Artemis rolled her eyes. "The others?"

"…heh…they're talking it over with the League…"

…

"My King," Kaldur started, giving the proper motions of respect," SuperBoy, Miss Martian and I have a request to ask of you and the other League members,"

As leader it was Kaldur's place to ask permission for his team.

"We're listening," Batman's voice echoed gravely.

…

"Hey Calie," Wally rushed out as he hung at the older girl's locker.

"Wally! Hey, sup man?" she laughed, tossing her books on her shelf and grabbing a binder.

He noted she was in AP Chem, Physics one, College prep and she'd closed the door of the little tin closet before he'd noticed more.

"Eh nothing much, what class ya heading to?" he asked, stepping to as to walk with her. She didn't seem to mind.

"Right now I'm heading off to lab for Mrs. Wilkens. How 'bout you hon?"

"Gym,"

"Haha, is it regular, team games or—"

"Its team games," he smiled, grabbing the door to the stairs before it swung closed, bowing smartly.

She giggled and did a mock curtsy, thanking him as she stepped through.

"Soooo…uh, what do you lab for? Class, I mean…" Wally asked, trying to make small talk as they walked down the flight of stairs past staring peers and stood outside a class room.

"Freshman English, advanced; I love literature, and I wanna get other kids to love it too, ya know? It isn't all about grads and GPA's. I mean, we've got life outside that stuff too…hah, sorry, I'm rambling. You'd better get to class 'for your late Wally," She waved and was inside before he could say goodbye.

…

"You wish to go to the surface school?" Aquaman asked, curious as to his apprentice's behavior.

"…the three of us do, sir." The boy supplied, motioning to his friends and looking from his king to the other League members.

"You realize it would be conspicuous if you were to _all _be pulled from school, at the same time? How long do you think it would take people to realize that you're the teens battling villains in the street. Not to mention that you and Supe—er, Conner, don't wear masks and are therefore recognizable; it wouldn't take anyone long to figure out who you all were." Batman said; his number one priority was keeping Dick safe. He wouldn't lose another Robin.

"Robin is a master hacker sir; he could supply the office with any number of excuses. Not to mention that public schools are riddled with students who simply skip. And as to the problem of our being recognized…"

"…I've discovered I have a new power…" Megan interrupted, bashfully stepping forward and keeping her gaze down and from her uncle. "I…I can make someone look…different. It's a phase-shifting property…I think. After someone walks away from Conner or Kaldur, they won't be able to remember exactly what either of them looked like. And we don't need to worry about me being recognized; I can look like any earth girl!"

"When did you learn this new skill Megan?" the Martian questioned, cocking his head.

"Never mind that now. Hacking into the school? Relying on a child's focus to keep you hidden? Do you three realize that you would be risking not just yourselves but your other teammates and the rest of the League with this, if it were to go wrong?" Superman stepped forward this time, crossing his arms.

The three bowed their heads, shoulders slumping.

"Hold up you two. What's wrong with these three wanting to learn more? Clark, you walk around with nothing but a pair of glasses and a suit disguising you during the day. All I have to do is pull my hair back and people hardly look twice as I walk down the street. Besides, maybe it could be beneficial to have the whole team in one place.

"Not to mention the cabin fever these three must be getting. They've got nowhere but that island to go to; you remember trying to keep every member of the league in space all the time—anyone would get stir-crazy staying in one place for so long." Wonder Woman spoke up, hands on her hips as she looked at the men, Bruce in particular. "I think," she looked at the three before her "We should at least give them a chance."

…

6:26pm:

"No way! You guys are coming to school!" Wally punched the air in victory.

"There are, of course, some conditions, but yes, we will be joining the three of you at Gothem Academy shortly. Robin, we'll need you ready at any moment to get into the school's database to come up with excuses and passes, in case something comes up. Also, we'll need some histories and records…"

"Done and done. Give me something hard," the boy wonder laughed, tossing his head back.

Only Artemis seemed weary of the three joining G.A. "What about your webbed fingers Kaldur, don't you think people will notice? Or Megan's green skin, or Superboy's strength—sorry Conner, but your temper could get us all in trouble if you lose it and punch through a wall."

Wally stared at her in disbelief. "You're joking, right?"

"No, I'm not. I don't want my identity and my family in danger because someone else messes up."

"There are ways around this; I can request permission to wear certain gloves during the school day. No one has to see them. Conner can wear glasses, like Clark, and if he's careful his strength won't be an issue. And, if you forgot, Megan can shape shift; she could look like anyone, even you." Kaldur said, slightly irritated.

"…right…" Artemis looked away and grabbed her bag. "See ya tomorrow then."

"What's wrong?" Megan asked as the blond left through the portal.

"Don't worry about her, do you know what you're going to look like for school?" Wally asked, eager to see what she'd look like.

"Hm…what about this?" she martian asked instantly changing.

…

September 2nd, 12:14pm

"Hey Wally, wait up!" Wally's dream was coming true; Cailan Leal, the most popular girl in school, had called out to him.

"…uh…h-hi Calie," he stammered, almost forgetting he was holding his tray of food.

"Hah, hey. Can I talk with you for a minute?" she asked, smiling and tilting her head the way he loved, her hair falling just slightly to the side.

"Of course!" he said a little too loudly, mentally shaking himself. She smiled and said great, following him to the table he, Artemis, Conner and Kaldur all sat at; Dick and Megan had the first lunch period. "Uh…here,"

He shoved his backpack to the ground with a thud and offered her a seat across from Artemis. She smiled hi to the other three, waving to Kaldur. "Hey, Cal, right?" she addressed him. "Cool to see ya again." he nodded through a bite he was tentitivly taking of the school's lunch.

"So, uh….what—what did you wanna talk about?" Wally asked, blushing and trying not to be proud that an upper classman was talking to him, possibly about to make his dreams come true.

"…well…okay, don't laugh?" she asked, partially cringing; he shook his head fervently that he wouldn't. "Okay, I took physiscs this year but I think I totally gave myself too much credit. I'm not doing well, and if I can't get my grades up I'll lose my captainship of the dance team, cheerleading, and maybe even get bumped from my place at the gymnastics competitions. If it drops bad enough—" she blushed; she caught herself before she drowned him in a pity party of a poor girl and didn't say she could lose her scholarship to school. "Sorry…it probably sounds really stupid to be worrying about those—"

Calie had been ignoring Artemis' scoffs and snorts as she rushed out with her explanation, trying to pretend she didn't see Wally shooting glares. Kaldur was elbowing the blond to get her to stop, but he was only halfway productive.

"—but they mean a lot to me. And, I know when I tutored you with English last term you kept saying you were really good at sciences and you've already taken physics…and…I was wondering if _you_ could maybe tutor _me _this time round?" she cringed a little; Kaldur noted her behavior: she expected to be laughed at for needing help and fully expected Wally (who had the biggest crush on her) to reject her plea for help.

She'd hardly gotten the words out before Wally nearly jumped up in eagerness telling her that yes, yes he would be more than happy to help her out of a jam anytime she needed him to. Her shoulders relaxed and she smiled; it was hard not to see the earnesty written on her face.

"You have no idea what a life-saver you are. Just one thing…I have a lot of commitments with school: my teams and tutoring at lunch; would it be alright to meet up after dinner once a week? There's a cool coffee house not far from here…"

Kaldur could see the ecstasy streaming over his friend's features. There would be only one problem: training, and Wally's commitments to the League.

"Not a problem, never a problem!" Wally said, grinning.

"Cool," she confirmed. "Sorry for stealing Wally you guys, I didn't mean to interrupt your lunch," she apologized to the other three.

Conner shrugged and smiled; he was forced into being social and found it wasn't so bad. Kaldur said it wasn't a problem. Only Artemis had an issue, it seemed; she didn't respond. Calie recognized the cold shoulder and withdrew soon after, saying it was nice to meet them and thanking Wally again.

"What is your deal!" He demanded of his arrow-shooting teammate as soon as Calie was out of earshot.

"What? You swoon after anything with legs and I'm supposed to treat her like some Goddess? I don't think so. She's just like all the other girls; I'm not going to act like she's some queen bee and fawn over her cause she's Ms. Popularity here."

As she stood and dumped her tray, Kal gave Wally a gentle warning. "Do not stretch yourself too thin my friend."


	4. Storm Clouds

_**A/N: Okay, got a surge of hits and reviews; thanks so much for reading guys and review to keep me in check and give pointers! Always appreciated! Also, I am not a cheerleader so I apologize if the cheers are lame. (And if anyone can make a guess as to the ACTUAL mascot for Gothem Academy, let me know!) **_

September 12th, 10:32am

"_At this time, teachers, students are to be dismissed to the gymnasium for the Fall Sports assembly. Again, all students are to be dismissed to the gymnasium for the Fall sports assembly." _ The voice of the school secretary rang out over the intercom.

Wally let out a whoop and dashed out of class. He loved assemblies. He loved seeing Cailan in total perfection out on the gym floor dancing and cheering. Not to mention it was a Friday, they'd get out of school early for the football game tonight, and tomorrow he'd be meeting Cailan for coffee and to go over her physics homework for the week.

"Wally," Conner said, grabbing him fast around the shoulders. "You sitting with the rest of us or gonna find some private place to ogle your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" the redhead protested bashfully, unable to stop a grin. "I'll catch ya guys there, I'm just gonna drop my stuff in my locker."

"Hey Wally," Megan said, walking over to his locker as the speedster wrestled away from Conner.

"Oh…hey Megan!" He smiled and kicked open his locker.

They chatted a little about school; how it was going so far for both of them, what the assembly was going to be like. All the while Wally felt right at home and comfortable with Megan; no nerves, no awkwardness to take into account. Nope, he and the alien were like two peas in a pod.

She asked him to hold her books while she swept her now-chestnut hair up into a pony tail. She still had green eyes, but they were murky when Megan looked like a human; she looked like she had spent just the right amount of time at the beach and Wally began hoping that she didn't look too perfect (she wasn't orange enough, he noted, to look fake-baked either).

The two met with the others; Megan went to sit by Conner but the two were so obviously awkward with each other that Megan turned her attention almost completely away from the blue-eyed teen and began gossiping with Artemis.

"So, what is this thing?" Conner demanded, his naturally surly disposition creeping into place as he glared at a freshman below him.

"Just an excuse to get out of class. They announce the sports heroes, talk about the normal back to school stuff and then the prissy little queen-bees prance around half naked to lame songs and everyone goes wild." Artemis said dismissively.

Ever the peace-keeper, Kaldur interjected a guileless question before Wally could rebuke. "Why do you seem so harsh on the life of normal teenagers Artemis?"

"…I'm not harsh. That's…just how it is." She shrugged and looked down below the plastic bleachers where they sat. It was starting, the announcers coming out and introducing themselves and rattling off horrible one-liners and jokes so old, they'd never been funny.

"Oh I'll bet your just jealous cause you couldn't go down there and do half as well," Wally rolled his eyes.

Sensing a fight brewing Dick asked Conner very loudly if he had managed to make the football team. This caught both Megan and Artemis' attention, successfully dissipating the situation. Conner's answer was an indifferent yeah. It'd taken some special hacking on Dick's part, but after the reasonable excuse of having missed tryouts on account of his 'transfer' and the remarkable fact that despite his broad shoulders and perfect football-physique Conner had never played the sport before he was allowed to try out. His superhuman strength let him easily lob the ball far enough for him to bump the star senior quarterback off his spot and his steel-like bones made it almost impossible for him to be tackled, unless he wanted to be.

"Just remember, you cannot be perfect in the game Conner. You must play as the others do, as well or as horribly, but not better." Kaldur said; he hated this fact. He couldn't join the swim team, because his webbed digits would be more than a reason for disqualification; he wouldn't even _make_ the team.

Conner rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

…

There were three cheers that were performed through the duration of the assembly. 'Home'—choreographed by Cailan, 'L-u-l-u-luck'—by the school's cheer-adviser, and 'For the Team' which was a collaboration between Cailan and her protégée; the freshman who was looked on as being the captain's replacement after graduation the following May.

'Home' was the introduction—and by all means the team came out big. Taking a cue from an old Disney Channel Original Movie, the varsity cheer squad had revamped what looked like ancient outfits and un-dusted some retro pompoms. The idea had actually come from the freshman who was expected to take Calie's place, which had caused a little bit of a scandal, it seemed, among some of the student body. The outfits were tight, mid-thigh shorts, and tight, baby-t tops.

Originally in the schools' colors, the uniforms had been decked out with glitter and gauze, frills and eye catching tinsel. Matching to the theme the girls had their hair pulled back with tinsel ribbons. Squeaky clean white tennis-shoes marked a stark contrast to the many fake-baked legs and the yellow finish on the gym floor. The lights started dimming and flickering, music slowly started playing out of the speakers around the room.

"Here we go," Artemis sighed and rolled her eyes.

When the dimmed lights adjusted so that everyone could see again, the cheer-squad was in position, sneakered toes pointed, pompoms behind their backs, their smiling faces down. The music got louder and the intro to 'Home' by Daughtry floated through the audience's ears. After a few bars in, the audio switched with the transition of a record's audio tearing, and a different beat issued forth to the gym. A solid base pumped out a set time and rhythm for the girls. There was an overlay of a different song, blending what some of the older kids recognized as a club beat to a popular new hit from the radio.

In time with the beat the team's shoulders started bouncing and then at the first crescendo their heads snapped up to reveal their smiling faces. At that point the team broke from formation and launched into a quick series of acrobatics: four girls on the flanks did wicked jumps and mid-air splits, Two girls at the back did back bends into hand stands and walked back a short distance and the three at front, Calie, her co-captain, and the young freshman girl, catapulted into handsprings and round offs, finishing with the girl in the middle in the splits, the two on the sides landing on one foot, mirroring each other.

"READY?" The captains called together.

"OKAY!" the squad roared in unison.

A series of claps and hops and waves brought the girls closer to the starting formation and the cheers began.

"H-O M and E! On our turf we won't be beat! Go Knights!" The girls did side prances to the halfway mark on the court, hands on hips and fists raised into the air.

Here the girls divided; Calie headed one section, the co-captain took the other. The first group—Calie's—struck a sassy pose, their hands on their hips with their right foot in tiptoe and with the 'music' their heads snapped up on beat. On cue the girls leaned back, moving their arms in unison as Group one cheered: "Boomtown Boomtown WE got game—"

At this point Group two broke in, mirroring Group one with the same motions, chanting "Boomtown Boomtown WE'RE the best—"

Group one: "WE got skills that none can claim!"

Group two: "WE'LL smash you out like all the rest!"

Like military dogs they did a mid-air split and snapped back into place, pausing just before the next round.

"K-N-I now say it loud! K-N-I…G-H-T-S"

The student body roared out the letters.

"G.A. Knights we are the best! We win the games and get the girls, We break you down and rock your world! G.A Knights Go G.A Knights!"

The cheer ended with the traditional 'toss' where the three heads of the team were thrown into the air. The girls landed and struck a pose, right on time with the finishing crescendo of the music. Pearly white smiles shone out from the collection of teenage girls as they looked up, panting, into the crowd. Applause rang out through the gym—like a finely tuned instrument, right on time with the end of the performance—but it barely had time to begin before Cailan was darting back across the finely-polished hardwood floors and out into the hall. She did, after all, have a costume change.

…

"…so…" Conner's word hung out over the YJL like storm clouds. "What, exactly, is the point of all of this?"

"FINALLY!" Artemis threw her hands in the air with a smirk. "Someone gets it!" Her smiling eyes turned to Conner, who thought a moment and then smiled sheepishly back, avoiding looking to Megan.

"…it is…like a battle commencement—a way of rallying the troops?" Kaldur supplied, looking from Wally to Dick for an explanation.

The two younger guys looked at each other, confused, then back to the auditorium where they were announcing the hopes for this present year.

"Well…yeah. I mean, it's a _pep_ rally. It's all about pumping people up with support of the school." Wally shrugged, looking to Dick to see if his explanation was satisfying enough.

…

Three and a half minutes later the dance team was about ready to come out with _their_ routine. Wally was more than disappointed when the six got notifications at the same time that they had a mission. Reluctantly he snuck away silently with the others to a deserted stairwell—the only spot in the high school where the cameras didn't reach.

They were recognized in unison and dropped at the base for quick info before being shot straight out into the line of work. Almost my magic, Robin had more than conveniently hacked the school with permission and excuses.

…

"_So not fair!"_ Kid Flash moaned as he flanked Kaldur on the motor-bike.

"_Geez, obsess much?"_ Artemis thought, rolling her eyes as she and Megan sped across at a diagonal to cut the perpetrator off.

"_You…like this girl Wal—I mean, Kid Flash?"_ Megan puzzled.

Conner gave a defeated sigh as he and Dick hit the building under attack from the north; he'd given up complaining openly about being linked to the others telepathically.

"_Not the time!" _Kaldur chastised the others as he led the turn onto the premises, coming to a sudden stop.

They were _covert. _The black-ops of the Justice League. They were like shadows—they went in, did their job, and left the criminals in a nice bundle for the police. Nothing more.

"_Kid Flash, quick perimeter check, Ms. Martian, scan the building and tell us what we're dealing with. Artemis and Robin, cover Superboy and me." _the leader commanded, darting to the building and turning to Conner for a boost up—quick and swift as a bird's fleeting shadow.

…

The mission ended, the sun setting—the young-justice team made their way wearily home. Wally and Dick split early in the jaunt, each heading in opposite directions to their respectful abodes. Artemis left not long after, muttering an Artemis-farewell and slipping away into the shadows. The remaining three didn't talk much.

With the telepathic line through Megan disconnected after each mission, Kaldur took a breath. He could think his own thoughts at this point. The eldest of the team, and their leader, he had quickly come to find his shoulders heavy.

Most importantly now was the drama unfolding in the layer under their very noses. Wally and Artemis could—given enough leeway and rope to hang themselves—tear the team apart with their bickering ways and demand for side-taking. But Kaldur also worried about Conner and Megan increasingly; the two were behaving very oddly of late.

He sighed and picked himself up for the moments needed to say 'good job' 'nice work out there' and 'goodnight' to his team when the need arose. After that—finally—he was alone with just himself and his thoughts. The water of the shower helped him think of these burdens. Never lightened in weight, he mulled them over nonetheless and sought a solution. A solution that, despite what he felt growing in his gut, would lead his friends safely away from whatever storm cloud was brewing around them.


	5. Thunder Before the Rain

_**A/N: Hey guys! Thank you all so much for your reviews and for your tips—I'm doing my best to keep them in mind while I write. It was brought to my attention that there might be some catches with the behavior/personalities of the actual characters; if you read that and find it to be true let me know please. Also, please be patient—I won't match the actual show totally because this is my work and my own style, but I do know the characters and, hopefully, have adapted enough so that small discrepancies will make sense in time when the story is taken as a whole and not individual chapters. Thanks again! **_

September 30th 1:07am:

"Arg you're so immature!" Artemis yelled, tossing her hands in the air. "This isn't a game Wally—get that through your head before you get the rest of us killed!"

"I'm immature? You're the one who pitched a fit because you weren't paired with Superboy for the mission! And for the record, Ms. Grownup, I've been at this a heck of a lot longer—than—you." Wally enunciated each of the last three words sharply, sticking his tongue out at the end.

"Can you believe this? Are you seriously—"

"That is enough." Kaldur didn't raise his voice, but the aquarium wall shattered and the ensuing flood separated the two teammates with tentacles of water.

"But she/he started it!" the two yelled at the same time, both glaring angrily up at their leader.

Kaldur, who until this point had turned and begun to walk away, whipped around, his hands clenched to fists. "I said that was enough. You two are acting like children. We are heroes, team-members, not toddlers fighting over toys in a sandbox. What has gotten into you two?"

His voice had steadily risen until it was a yell, his eyes glowering at his subordinates threateningly; he'd never gotten this angry before.

"For the past several weeks you have been at each other's throats and picking each other apart! You argue, you sneer at one another! You bicker like children and turn-tales and tattle on each other the second one goes just a hair too far! Why can you two not work it out and get along like before? What on earth has gotten it into your heads that this behavior is acceptable?"

Megan and Conner stood back, awkwardly—in reference to each other, watching surprised as Kaldur unleashed his frustrations. Dick gapped open-mouthed at the entrance to their layer, having never seen his friend in such a state.

Artemis and Wally stood, shuffling their feet with their shoulders slumped and heads bowed. Obviously listening, they offered no objections and tried to avoid Kaldur's stony gaze. Seconds of silence ticked ominously by, the group caught in a gracelessly uncomfortable situation.

"…I'm sorry…about earlier. I don't have time for this. I've gotta get stuff together to help Cailan tomorrow." Kid Flash tugged his mask off and turned his back, not meeting his leader's eyes.

"Tch!" Artemis scoffed, her rage triggering her to ignore the reprimand she'd just gotten. "Right, just walk away and dottle off to that…that…queen-bee. Ignore your TEAM!"

"Dude, what is your deal?" Wally rounded on her, throwing down his mask and bulking himself to his full (though, still rather puny) girth. "Every turn has you bagging on me or on Cailan—what exactly did we do to you to tick you off?"

"Hm, I don't know, maybe the fact that you're ditching us for her!" Artemis crossed her arms and turned her body away from K.F. "Not that saving the world is that important, when some girl you hardly know decides to give you the time of day, right Wally?"

"What was that!" Wally roared, taken aback at the direct attack. "You—"

"…is that what this is about, jealousy?" Megan asked, tipping her head to the side. "Hello Megan! Artemis, you're upset because Wally is spending so much time with another girl!"

The team froze, and looked wide-eyed at each other and Miss Martian. Taken aback they all took a moment to digest what she'd said. Her outburst and following smile confused them slightly and caught everyone off guard.

"NO WAY!" Wally and Artemis yelled together, moving even farther apart than they'd been.

"…Megan's on to something…you two did begin arguing more after school started and Wally tried to flirt with Cailan…" Dick put his hand to his chin as if he were going to stroke a beard he didn't have, thinking.

"Wha—no! I-I…" Artemis gave up, put a hand to her head and sighed. "Look, I just don't trust her and I think that the more you put her on this high pedestal, the farther and the harder you're going to come crashing back to earth when you realize she's not half as perfect as you think. I…just don't want my friend to be hurt."

"Thanks SO much. Hmph. It isn't any of your business anyways; you can't just—"

"It doesn't matter. For the time being, you two will be reprimanded and off of future missions. You are not to report here, unless called directly for." Kaldur'am had a hard time saying it. But Batman had made things very clear in the beginning; he couldn't take the chance of his team being compromised.

"What? What kinda decision is that?" Artemis demanded, stepping forward.

"Wait you can't just take me off the team!" Wally protested, gesturing wildly with his hands.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Kaldur? I mean—" Megan started in.

"…this is so not good…" Dick muttered to Conner, who nodded and remained out of the line of fire of the other four who continued to argue. "Not. Good."

…

_[Sunday, September 18__th__, 12:30pm]_

"Hey, thanks for letting me reschedule for today Wally," Cailan said tossing her head back and dropping her things into the booth seat. "I had practice yesterday and dance rehearsal, ran over. Oh, and…sorry, about the late call to explain everything I—"

"No, no! It's cool, really, it's fine. No big…" Wally shook his head and protested, despite the fact that he'd waited nearly two hours for her to show before he gave up and went home. "Ahem…uh, anyways…your physics,"

"Oh…right," she groaned. "I've got pretty much no idea what's going on,"

She thudded her textbook on the table and hurriedly flipped it open a few chapters in. "Uh…I think we're here…?" she said, giggling and rolling her eyes, digging through her purse for a planner.

They sat across the table for a while, going over things. Wally walked her through the chapter; he hadn't thought it'd be so hard to teach something. He was starting to get a new-found respect for teachers.

"Okay, I kinda get this; it shouldn't be so hard—I'm sorry," She brushed physics aside, taking it halfheartedly. Calie paid attention to what he said, but when she got a problem wrong she laughed it off and had a way of acting like she didn't care.

Every so often Cailan would glance up at Wally as he studied the problem, searching for a good way to help her understand. If he caught her looking she'd smile and let him go back to looking at the textbook. She wanted to apologize again; the two sides of her argument when something like this: _"It's none of his business why I was busy yesterday and late today. I let him know that I couldn't make it…" _for the pro of keeping silent, and like this: _"He's a sweet kid. He deserves to know that you're not totally heartless and just manipulating him." _for the con of not saying anything.

"Hey, Wally?" she put her hand on his arm. "Uh, I—"

_**This time, I wonder what it feels like, to find the one in this life, the one we all dream of, but dreams just aren't enough, so I'll be waiting for the real thing, I'll know it by the—**_

Cailan mouthed sorry and answered her phone, sliding out of the booth and standing at the corner of the table. She rolled her eyes and held it to her shoulder, looking back to the freshman boy with a question.

"Nah, its cool, no worries," he waved his hand nonchalantly, trying to stay positive.

"…I told you babe, if I don't study I'll—" he heard her whisper irritably.

He tried to ignore his heart sinking. '_babe,'_ equaled boyfriend. "I gotta go. No. I've got. To. Go."

"Wally, I'm really sorry." Cailan said, turning off her phone.

She focused more after the phone call, as if (to Wally at least) she was trying to make up for the distraction. He could tell she was concentrating harder than before; at least she was trying. He couldn't say that she was going to get a 100% on her next test, but the concepts and basics of what she was doing was at least apparent. He could guarantee she wasn't going to fail it.

The time slipped by and it was soon late in the afternoon.

"Thanks again Wally. Hey, wanna let me buy you an ice cream or something—to make up for taking your weekend with school stuff, and for yesterday?"

"Well, you don't have to make up for anything at all, but…yeah, if you wanna I'm not gonna twist your arm to make you stop," he grinned.

"Great! Where do you wanna go?"

"Hm how'bout—oh, wait. Cailan, I can't." the young hero groaned inwardly and leaned heavily against the wall. "I've got plans with my friends tonight."

"Hey, that's cool. Rain check, kay?"

…

_[8:00pm]_

"Lizzy told Emily that she's been seeing Jake," Megan said, sending food around the kitchen haphazardly making dinner.

Wally slumped on his elbows, head hanging.

"Wally, this is not healthy," Kaldur said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "There are other girls—"

"Don't give him that line," Dick chuckled, walking in through the portal in his Robin outfit.

"Duo gig with The Bat over already?" Conner said, hardly looking up from the videogame he had going on the big screen.

"…" Robin glanced around and then shrugged. "Just the Joker's goons; he's planning something big though."

"Is Artemis coming for dinner?" Megan asked, peering at the others.

"I do not believe so," Kaldur said, straightening and crossing his arms.

"But she said she wanted a rain check…what does that even mean?" Wally interrupted, looking to the others for help.

"…maybe Artemis could—"

"She doesn't exactly like this topic. Hey, what game is that?" Dick changed directions and went into the living room, his costume gone and jeans and hoodie in proper place.

"Please, do not focus so much on this girl Wally." Aqualad said; he turned to Megan and said he was going for a swim before dinner.

…

"Kaldur!" Garth said, breaking from his studies and grinning. "How have you been? It is too long since last we saw you!"

"I am sorry brother; I am and have been well, and busy. And you? How have classes faired for you here?" He met his friend's embrace and stood back; they were patched and mended in their friendship, but there was still a bridge they needed to cross.

"They have been classes, but the Queen has taught us much. But come," he saw the look on Kaldur's face and knew there was more. "this cannot be what you have given your precious time for. Tell me, brother, what is it you seek?"

Garth kept his smile and kept his attitude warm, opening his arms wide to Atlantis.

"Actually, I only wanted a word with Tula; a past event has been on my mind, yet I cannot seem to recall the details. I was hoping she would be able to clarify,"

"I am sorry to tell you Kaldur. She is away now; she was asked by the Queen to accompany her on a journey to the Indonesian Sea-territory. They seek new techniques and methods, but they are not within easy reach." Garth said, trying to keep a peaceable demeanor to Kaldur.

Kaldur paused a moment, nodded his head, gathered his thoughts. "Thank you, Garth. It was a simple matter; there is no need to tell Tula I called. I shall see you both again soon," Kaldur said.

Aqualad swam the rounds; there were other friends he needed to see, a home he wanted to look over again.

…

_[September 21__st__, 8:30pm]_

"Oh!" the look on Cailan's face was a mixture of pure surprise, startlement, and apology as she stood with her mouth hanging open, her eyes wide. "I am so sorry!"

Her chestnut hair billowed up around her shoulders as she instantly dropped to the ground to pick up the books she'd knocked out of the guy's hands.

"It is not a problem," Kaldur said smiling, on his knees assisting Cailan with his books.

"Hey," her eyes smiled over to him as she paused. "You're Wally and Dick's friend…uh, Cal, right?"

Kaldur smiled a reply as they stood.

"I've seen you around school," she said. "Sorry for the book-check, you'd think I'd be graceful as a dancer!"

"Really, it is no problem. What are you doing here so late?" Kaldur asked, looking around. He figured she must have come to the business district from the school.

"Just grabbing a bite after practice," she smiled. "What about you?"

"Oh, I…forgot my books. There's a test tomorrow. You just finished with practice?"

"Wellllll, I had gymnastics and cheerleading right after school, and then I went to work with the dance team after that."

"That's right, Wally said—" he stopped and cleared his throat, trying to think of a good way to change the subject.

"Wally said…?" she asked slowly, cocking her head at him.

"…oh, uh, he just mentioned that you were on many school teams,"

He studied her face; there was a series of emotions that flew across her face, but none lasted long enough for him to register. "Heh, yeah, it keeps me pretty busy,"

"KALDUR! What IS TAKING so long?" Dick called from around the corner.

"Sorry for keeping you," Calie said, adjusting her pack and sports bag to hold the sack of food she had with her with both hands.

"Do not worry, Dick is simply impatient."

"Oh, hey Calie," Dick said as though he knew her. There was an informal code among the students at GA: class rank was important—to most of them. If Dick had gotten caught by the wrong person at school, it could have meant trouble.

Calie, however, greeted his tone like she would any long friend's. "Hey Dick? Sup man?"

He shrugged and smiled. "Just hanging around; we're gonna study for that test tonight." He lied easily.

"Well, good luck on that one. Don't stay at it too late; it's better to sleep before a test,"

They'd walked down the street together and she was getting ready to separate and go down main as she said her goodbye.

"Oh, hey," Dick said, getting an idea into his head. "The two of us and Wally are gonna hang at the park on Friday, if you don't have anything going on, you should catch us there."

"When do you find time for schoolwork?" Kaldur interrupted, giving Calie a quizzical look.

"…hah, well…therein lies why I'm plaguing Wally for help in physics…" they didn't respond "Well, I mean, I get a lot of work done in class and before school…I squeeze some studying in between practices…but…"

Dick whistled. "Keeps ya busy…"

At the same time Kaldur murmured something about her 'not being a plague to Wally'.

"I guess…" she gave them a funny look and laughed. "Hey, I gotta get going, get some studying in and all that… catch ya guys around…"

"Hey! Calie," Kaldur called, reaching a hand for her shoulder.

The girl turned, just shy of his reach. "Hm?"

"…uh, about Friday?"

"I'll see,"

…

_[September 23__rd__ 9:19pm]_

"Thought you weren't gonna show tonight," Dick said, leaning against a tree.

Calie dribbled the ball a little and brought it to the top of her foot. With a bounce she sent it up and caught it, tossing it from one hand to the other. "Eh, decided you guys weren't _that_ lame,"

She winked and cherry-bombed the ball to Wally.

The soccer ball glowed in the dark; after explaining why she was late—a dance performance at South-West high (conveniently leaving out _certain_ details) –and getting teased for it they split into teams. Wally, of course, chose Calie; Dick and Kaldur played opposite them. Calie and Wally switched between playing field and playing goalie.

Kaldur played a casual field game; if he tried too hard he and Dick would have won by a land slide. Calie was a dancer, not a soccer player; Wally was fast but Kaldur was more versatile on the field, and there wasn't a shot Dick couldn't block.

"Heh, Wally, I think you're losing on my account," she joked, sitting and catching the water bottle Kaldur tossed to her.

"Why not trade teams?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders.

Calie blushed and shrugged, taking a fast drink. _Maybe he's getting tired of you tangling yourself in his feet…you shouldn't be trying to flirt with him anyways. That's what people call 'being a tease', stupid. _

"…yeah, sure okay," Wally said, fist-bumping Dick.

"I dunno Cal, I'm not much of goalie either," she smiled trading her place next to the red head to sit with his friend.

"I would not worry about the ball getting to you in the first place," he winked and smiled down at her. She took another drink. _Did Wally see?_

…

_[September 28__th__, 12:04pm]_

"…haha, yeah I know! You wouldn't believe it from her size though!" Wally overheard as he carried his tray over to his lunch table.

"What do you mean?" the girl's friend said, glancing around to see if she'd been heard.

"Well, Calie is so small, I wouldn't think she'd be able to handle all the booze,"

Wally froze and turned, staring blatantly at them. They didn't notice and continued on; dumbstruck the young hero sat, hardly looking at his food.

"Something up?" Artemis asked, her tone void of emotion.

"…no," he lied, digging in.

_I didn't know she drinks…_

_[2:54pm]_

"Jake, no," Kaldur heard someone giggle as he dug through his locker at the end of the day. "I told you, I gotta get to practice,"

"Yeah, I know. I do too," he heard the guy—Jake—and heard the grin on his voice.

"Jake!" there was laughter now.

Kaldur thought nothing of it as he met Wally and the two turned the corner to get to the main stairs and exit through the front doors, a thing they rarely had a chance to do anymore.

"…Cailan?" Wally asked, taken aback.

It would have been one thing to see a hug, or even a kiss. It was another thing to walk around the corner at school and see her legs around a guy's waist, back against the wall, hands around his neck. His face was hidden in her shoulder and she was shying away, being ticklish.

Her face went scarlet and she squirmed to get out of Jake's grasp. "arg," he hissed, "What?"

He set her to her feet and she turned away from the three of them. "Babe, what? What's it matter?" he demanded, glancing to the two intruders and then back to her.

"I—I gotta get to practice," she said, giving another ashamed look to the two heroes and slamming her locker closed, darting off around the corner.

"What the hell?" Jake growled quietly, punching her locker. "Damn bitch,"

Wally was frozen in place, still starring at where Calie had been; Kaldur had turned his face away, not wanting memories of Tula, not wanting to see when he'd thought…

"What're you staring at, you freak," Jake shouldered Wally roughly into Kaldur.

"Hey!" the red-head said, startled out of starring.

"That was uncalled for," Kaldur's voice rumbled in a low tone, his eyes sparking out that Jake was on dangerous ground.

"Yeah, so was this," he threw a cheap punch from Kaldur's blind spot, sending him stumbling.

"Kaldur!" Wally shouted, catching his leader by the shoulder.

"Heh, listen to the pussy and stay down kid,"

…

_[September 29__th__ 9:37pm]_

"K.S WHAT are you DOING?" Superboy yelled, doing a double take at Wally and leaping to his aid just before a beam obliterated everything in a three-foot radius from where Wally had been standing. Unfortunately for Superboy, he didn't make it clear of injury.

"Kid Flash get your head in the game!" Kaldur yelled using his unique weapons to simultaneously save Superboy and block yet another attack.

Kid Flash shook his head and made a running lunge for their attackers, stabbing blindly in the dark in attempts to find him.

Their job was to be covert; once again they'd been discovered and jeopardized from a childish mistake. They were only supposed to gather information and report back this time. They weren't supposed to take on this minor-league of joker-cronies.

"Heheheheh! Uncle Joker isn't going to like that they're interfering!" the ring-leader of the street gang spat out, a wild, drug-induced grin on his face.

"Baal, shut up!" a girl in a ragity-ann getup yelled as she wailed on Dick after the distraction with Superboy had caught him off guard.

"Robin!" Megan yelled, using her telepathy to freeze the doll mid-punch.

"Behind him Megan!" Kaldur yelled; Artemis let a net-arrow fly and captured a meta-human in the form of a hyena before he'd had a chance to sink his claws into Megan's back.

"This way!" A pumpkin-headed boy of fifteen yelled, his jack-o-lantern smile flickering as he screeched the tires of a car in a doughnut-spin. Baal shoved another bone-head out of the way and leapt in, followed by the ragity-ann imposter and the third punk. The hyena-thing whined, but it's 'friends' spun their wheels and took off, the tires squealing dirt in their faces.

"…definitely not feeling the aster this time," Robin groaned, kicking the dirt. They had explaining to do.

…

_[Present time; September 30__th__ 1:15am] _

"You can't do that." Artemis said boldly, taking a stance.

" I just did. I am the leader of this team."

"I wasn't even the one who jeprodized our mission! It was Wally who froze up and nearly got us all killed! Not me. You can't take me out of this; my uncle—"

"—left you in my charge. You may not have caused our mission to fail—that was a flaw in our approach and our teamwork—but you are also not helping whatever this situation is. You have not been supporting Wally and have not been much of a teammate since we all enrolled at Gothem Academy. Whatever is going on, you should have come to us—both of you. Instead, you hid it away and that could have gotten us all into trouble tonight. Pack your things and stand. Down."


	6. When Clouds Break into Storms

_**A/N:Hey, thanks so much everyone! Glad you're loving it and please keep up the feedback! 3**_

_[7__th__ of October, Friday 3:00PM]_

"CAILAN!"

The girl went sprawling to the ground, the squeaky sound of flesh dragging against the wood gym floor echoing above the music. Cailan picked herself up and shook it off.

"Are you okay?" Marlen began freaking instantly; as Cailan's protégé she had an obligation to make sure her mentor was alright.

"Yeah, yeah I'm sorry you guys. I guess I got one dance mixed up with another," she let the younger girl pull her to her feet and straightened her uniform.

"You know, you've been doing that a lot lately." Casey said, tossing her curled pony tail over her shoulder.

"She's on three different teams, give her a break that's a lot of focus," Marlen said straightening.

"…Look, Calie, we know you're great and that you've got obligations, but…look, don't you think you might be biting off, well, more than you can handle?" Meg asked, looking from Calie to Casey; she was co-captain and didn't want to be mistaken for attacking her friend for the head position on the team.

"…" Cailan sighed; she'd put this dance together herself, going to Meg for edits; she _should_ know the moves herself. They performed at halftime tonight for the football game—both the dance and the cheers.

"Yeah, do you even know how you're going to manage tonight?" Casey asked, folding her arms over her chest in a challenging stance.

"…Yes, I do. The same thing as always." Cailan smiled and said through gritted teeth. "I'll cheer with the rest of the cheerleaders and them come out for the dance with you guys, then go back to cheering."

"Cause you can manage that."

The gym grew quiet as Casey stood facing Calie. Casey was a blond girl, tall and lean with great thighs and a nice rack. She had a uniform a size too small, long lashes and heavily glazed lips—_glazed,_ not glossed.

"Casey, I know you're concerned for the team, but I've got this. Just like I did last year, and the year before. It'll go just like it did at every other game we've cheered. Our routine is great, our girls are gold, and our football team has plenty of studs to keep us motivated." She smiled and calmly tried to get the girls back into formation.

"You're darting off during practices, forgetting moves and cheers, and running into us all over the place. You can't even get the routine right, how are we supposed to trust you when we're up in the sky doing aerials and you're here supposed to catch us?"

A murmur went through the girls gathered. Cailan looked at the all in a sweeping motion with her eyes; in a moment her mind burned through thoughts that if she didn't take command back now, her team would soon 'mutiny' and get rid of her. She knew that judgments and rumors were spreading like wildfire; if Cailan lost control she lost her team.

"Casey I'm captain, end of story. If you've got an issue with that, you can quit. As for the rest of you," she turned, her voice becoming stone. "We've got two hours to practice before we get dressed, pack on the bus and set up the field over there. So, back in formation. Now."

"Marlen, music." She ordered, straightening her back and stiffening. "One, two, one two ready go!"

…

_[4:06pm]_

"Ms. Leal," the girls—in the midst of acrobatic doings and practicing's—all soon stopped and meandered around, looking to the principle.

He waggled his finger in beckoning manner.

"Yes sir?" Calie asked as she walked over.

"Let's, uhrm, speak in private." He motioned out the door.

"Ms. Leal, I've noticed that you're grades have started slipping. Under the conditions of your scholarship, you must keep your grades up."

"I—I know, I'm working on it. I, uh, just had some trouble with the classes but, I've already gotten tutors for some classes. My grades will be back in place in no time,"

"…if not, you realize the first thing to go will be your extra-curriculars,"

…

_[8__th__ of October, 2:45pm]_

The next day Cailan was less than prime for the gymnastics meet. It was nothing big; gymnastics was more of a spring sport, this meet was simply to keep the small team in shape and give them practice. However, after the confrontation with Casey, the warning reprimand she'd gotten from Principal Harding and the staggering loss at the football game, her own confidence took a serious blow.

She didn't medal, or place high for that matter. What that meant was that her team suffered points, lost placing. Pretty much, she'd messed up for the team. Her coach was pissed, her teammates were pissed, hell, she was pissed.

And she knew that by Monday the entire school would be talking about it and Casey was going to make sure of it.

…

_[9__th__ of October, 3:30pm] _

"Hey Wally…it's me, again. I was just wondering if we were still meeting up? Maybe, I could buy you that ice cream I owed you? …uh…call back if you get this,"

She pulled out a chair and set her bag on the table, looking around.

Cailan waited an hour and a half before she got a coffee, and another half hour before finally giving up and calling it a night.

"…uh, hehy," she sighed into the voicemail. "me again. Just wanted to let you know I'm up for rescheduling…sorry to have missed you…again. Bye Wally,"

…

_[12__th__ of October, 11:13am]_

"Hey Wally," Cailan smiled, leaning against the locker next to the younger boy's.

"Oh, hey Calie." She watched his jaw jump and felt the air drop about ten degrees.

"…uh, so…about Saturday—"

"Yeah, sorry I couldn't make it. Look, my mom said she wants me at home to study and take care of my siblings, so…I can't help you anymore. Sorry Cailan." He said, refusing to look at her and slamming his locker door closed before he turned and left her here.

Surprised she stood there, staring at the empty space that used to hold Wally. Blinking, she realized she was still standing there, staring stupidly. Fighting her blush she glanced around; other kids were already looking at her, muttering to their friends behind their hands. She felt their eyes on her, caught those eyes darting away after they'd been caught looking. Taking a deep but shaky breath Cailan straightened and began walking down the hall.

…

"…how can she do that?" Dick questioned, peering after the high school 'queen' as she walked calmly and surely down the hall.

"Do what?" Artemis snapped, hardly tossing a glare over her shoulder to address her friend.

"That; how can she walk down the hall like that? I mean…she just…like, _exudes_ an air of seniority."

"Because she's a pampered little princess whose mommy and daddy have given her everything she ever wanted who rules the school through rumors, sex, and popularity. Can we change the topic now?"

"…uh…" Artemis shook her head and stormed off before Dick could correct her; Cailan didn't get everything from a rich mommy and daddy. "Jealous much?"

He shook his head and smiled, following after her towards the class they had together. He sent one more glance down towards where Cailan had disappeared.

…

_[12:19pm]_

"Uh, hey, Conner, right?"

"Yeah," the soot-headed boy said, arching the brow of a blank face at her.

"Hi…uh, you're a good friend of Wally's, right?"

He still stared at her, his face still void, the air still uncertain.

She took a deep breath to calm herself of jitters she didn't know why she had. "C-Could you…I mean, uh…do…" she paused, mentally shook herself and smiled again. "Sorry. Ahem…do you know if there's something wrong with Wally?"

"No." he said flatly, never getting emotion to his face, walking towards the table he shared with his friends.

"Okay well," she rushed out, hurrying to catch his shoulder "could you…tell him if I've done something, I'm sorry?"

This made Conner pause and take a good look at her. It didn't seem like she was lying. He felt something he wasn't sure he liked; it was…a different feeling.

"Sure."

…

"You're girlfriend's trying to apologize." Conner said bluntly as he gently shouldered between Megan and Kaldur; Dick and Artemis (thanks to clever hacking) now shared the same lunch.

"Huh?" The redhead said, looking glumly up from his food.

"Conner rolled his eyes half-way to a bite of pizza. "You're girlfriend, the cheerleader/dancer/whatever. She bugged me to harass you about being sorry."

Wally stiffened and glanced to Kaldur; he was irritated but knew Kaldur had been right in his decision, but now he was trying to be on his best behavior. So, getting nothing from the other two Wally shrugged and went back to his food.

…

_[1:49pm]_

"I heard that Tony said Jake and Calie have some…_wild_…ideas about how _it's _done," Amy was saying.

Cailan paused—froze—and listened, hoping they hadn't noticed her sneakers before she could pull them up to the stool's rim.

"Pft. What's that news? Half the team talks about what a slut she is,"

Cailan's jaw dropped and her eyes flashed with anger. She did her best to hold her breath steady and not burst through the stall door. She didn't even have a boyfriend!

"Well Jake was talking about some pretty intense stuff." Amy insisted.

"Guys, don't you two have anything better to do? She's my friend and I'd know if she were doing those things," Calie heard Meg say.

"Yeah, well, it's kind of hard to not believe when Mat said it flat out."

"Or when Josh decked Drew on field?"

"Hey, I heard that was over Marlen, not Cailan," Meg said. "Besides, guys lie all the time about sex! They have to…well, stroke their egos and make themselves look good to their friends,"

The three tittered over the terrible pun and resumed doing their hair. "Besides," Meg said, rolling her shoulders. "Calie doesn't and hasn't had a boyfriend, like ever. Her and Jake have only just started to see each other. She hardly has time for a relationship!"

"Casey says different. She says—"

"That girl is a power-hungry bitch. She hates Cailan. If you guys were her real friends you wouldn't believe rumors about her."

"Right Meg; that's exactly why you and Adam were talking about how Cailan had been leading him on and was only interested in another notch on her bed-post." Beth sneered. "Oh, don't give me that look. I heard you talking to him at the game this weekend. He was totally undressing her with his eyes and you went over and asked if he'd seen her and Roy at the party when she'd gotten drunk and…well, _you _know."

Cailan felt her heart sinking. Meg was—she'd thought—had been, a good friend.

_Two choices. Stay and hide or confront them. Stay and hide, confront. Okay. Fine. _

"Didn't know you all were so loyal. You know, talking like that, people might think you're a little obsessed." She said flatly as she walked stoically out of the stall.

"…well, speak of the devil,"

"Literally." Beth confirmed of Amy.

"Why" her voice caught and she battled frustration and anger. "I thought we were friends."

"We are. Were. Whatever. We were just talking about what's going around." Beth shrugged, realizing that the most popular girl at school was on the brink of total social-suicide.

"Do you guys really hate me enough to keep spreading these lies?" Calie asked, her voice cold and her body so stiff it ached. Her eyes held each of the three girls, ending on Meg.

They each squirmed a little under her gaze. Calie's hands clenched tightly, her long nails digging into her palms. "Well?" she spat through clenched teeth.

"…no…we don't," Meg said, looking frustrated and sad and confused all at once. "Don't you get it? We're just tired of you being little Ms. Perfect, all the time. Everyone loves you, all the guys want you, you do _everything_. It's…sickening—no matter what you're always happy, all the time! Well…look at you now. Not happy, are you?"

Beth and Amy looked satisfied to see Meg walk out without a reply. They smirked and looked to each other, started giggling. Then—taking a cue from Meg and gaining a confidence they didn't deserve—they turned on their high heels and walked out of the bathroom.

Cailan walked to the sinks, trembling. She didn't think she'd ever been so angry. Gripping the porcilen sink she looked into the mirror. Her eyes were red; she wouldn't cry. She wouldn't. Ignoring the ringing bell sounding the start of a new class she riffled through her purse and dug out a brush and her makeup. A little eyeliner—dark brown—and mascara and her eyes looked almost as good as new, you could only tell if you looked close. Next she ran her brush through her hair, rolling it at the ends to give her hair an inward flip and some body. Lastly, feigning a good demeanor and air of being okay by now, she pouted her lips and glossed, smiling at her reflection and trying not to notice how fake it was.

…

"Sorry I'm late Mrs. Kelly," Calie said as she pranced into the computer's class nearly fifteen minutes late.

"Class started nearly twenty minutes ago."

"Fifteen, Mrs. Kelly." Calie answered shortly, standing at the teacher's desk. "Won't happen again."

The teen flashed a smile and walked to her seat without giving Mrs. Kelly a chance for reprimand. Her seat was a table back from Dick's and two seats over. The teacher stared after her, obviously startled.

_Gothem_red07: Pretty brazen._ Dick gave an appreciative smirk and typed off a message in seconds flat.

_the13th:wat do u mean? _Cailan replied through the IM box, keeping a plastered smile on her face as she pretended to work.

_Gothem_red07: You kidding? Walking all over like you own the place? _

_People say things. I'm saying, that was pretty brazen, talking to Mrs. Kelly like that. Anyone else tired it they'd probably get a detention._

_the13th: o. ill be a senior nxt yr; u just act like they cnt touch u, and no1 tries._

_who r u, btw?_

_Gothem_red07: just a kid who finished work early. _

_the13th: …okay, how'd u get my sn?_

_Gothem_red07: good with computers. It was easy to find. _

Calie let the curser blink on her monitor. What else was she supposed to say? She minimized the box and resumed work on her assignment. But as she worked she let her façade slip away and her mind wandered. What were people saying right now? Her face grew worried, sad even. Dick (having been hacking and playing games for the past half hour) glanced over now and again. He couldn't shake the feeling that she was upset.

_Gothem_red07: something up?_

_the13th: no, y?_

_Gothem_red07: Cause I'm pretty good with people, and your face screams 'woe is me, I need someone to talk to'_

_the13th: …mayb. But, u don't seem like 1 for chitchat. Sides, ur a stranger. _

_Gothem_red07: yeah, that's true. But I'm a good listener too. _

Calie thought a moment, staring at the cursor for a good five minutes. The she signed out and logged off ten minutes before the bell sounded. For the remainder of class she sat looking into a black computer screen, pretending to do her hair and adjust her clothes and fix her makeup.


	7. Downpour

_**A/N: I hope I'm using the ballet terms correctly; if not I apologize. **_

_[12__th__ of October 9:30pm] _

'_Don't you get it? We're just tired of you being little Ms. Perfect, all the time. Everyone loves you, all the guys want you, you do __everything__. It's…sickening—no matter what you're always happy, all the time! Well…look at you now. Not happy, are you?'_ Cailan sneered into her mirror making her voice go nasally in mock of Meg. "ARG! They're such…such bitches!"

She jumped as the candle glass smashed and looked at it, oddly satisfied. She looked to the dresser top where there were multiple things to be smashed and broken. It was littered with glass bowls and candle trays and bottles of all kinds—she and Natalia had gone to thousands of thrift stores, collecting them together.

This time she smiled at the sound of glass hitting the floor.

"…Calie?" the younger girl's voice murmured as she rubbed her eyes and peeked through the accordion door. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Go back to bed." The older girl snapped, pushing away her feelings of regret.

"…they're…broken…" the girl said, turning her still pillowed cheeks and big eyes up to Calie. "Why—"

"Natalia shut up and get back to bed. Now." Calie hissed, slamming her hand down on top of the dresser and glaring at her foster-sister.

The little girl jumped and started tearing. "No. No, Natalia if you start crying I swear to God I will spank you so hard you can't sit to save your life, got it?"

Cailan spat out an exasperated sigh and tossed her head back before staring herself down in the mirror. She knew she'd taken out her anger at her friends on Natalia. Frankly, right now she didn't care. She was perfect? Hah. Tell that to the little brat who could do no wrong.

Natalia at all the cookies and spoiled her dinner? Cailan's fault, no shower time tonight. Oh, Natalia didn't do her homework? Yep. That's Cailan's—who was at school from six in the morning to nearly eight at night—fault, she's not keeping her younger sister on top of her school work. No dinner tonight.

Cailan threw herself a pity party, pouting and making her image in the mirror look as helpless as possible. It only made her angrier. She took another bottle and threw it hard at the wall.

She was just applying more gloss as she pouted her lips when she heard sniffles in the other room. At first she rolled her eyes; it was too persistent. The sound of her heels crunching over the broken glass made the guilt sink in deeper; Cailan sighed and slowly made her way to Natalia's closet/room.

"Hey," she said, knocking and opening the door anyways. "Honey?"

Cailan sat on the bed and let her hand hover over the little girl's shoulder. "Nat, I'm sorry. I was just angry."

"No! You were just being mean!" she girl cried, sitting up and pushing Calie's hand away.

"…I know. I was being a jerk, huh?" Cailan received a nod. "Tell you what, how about you and I go out sometime and we'll get more trinkets for you, okay?"

"…as many as I want?" Cailan smiled through clenched teeth; _tricky little brat._

"Sure, as many as you want,"

"Tomorrow?" the younger girl demanded, arching a little brow at Cailan.

"…hon, we've got school."

"Oh, okay." The little girl said, her face falling as she pulled up on the blanket and rolled over.

Cailan sat there for a moment and groaned inwardly.

…

_[12:37am]_

"Jake, where you?" Cailan asked into the phone. "Look, we needa talk."

"Ahw, damn it what?" he growled into his phone, interrupting the voicemail she was leaving.

"…just…what have you been telling people? I mean…there are rumors going around and—"

"You didn't need me to start rumors. Casey hates you without me in the mix."

"…so you haven't been telling people we're getting it on in kinky ways?" she demanded, crossing her arms.

He arched a brow through the phone line and smirked "No, of course not, why would I be saying that?"

Calie couldn't tell from his tone if he was mocking her or if he was serious. She felt a desperation well up in her chest and felt her composure breaking.

"Jake I'm serious. If you're telling your buddies something knock it off. I don't like people talking about me like that."

"Maybe if we could actually _do_ things, I wouldn't have'ta just talk about it."

"I just…want it to stop, okay?"

…

_[1:08am]_

Calie curled up on the bed; if she squeezed herself into a little ball, maybe—

She turned over violently. She wouldn't cry. Sitting up she ran her fingers through her hair. In the dim light from the window she had enough light to do her hair and makeup. The bun was curled tightly at the nape of her neck and her lips were a deep ruby-brick. She let a small smile escape as the looked at the matt color in the moonlight. She fancied she looked like she'd just stepped out of the twenties.

The air felt good on her skin through her black tights; the gauzy skirt of her leotard fluttered in the small breeze as she pushed open the door to the roof and stepped outside. Standing on the threshold she took a long, deep breath and closed her eyes.

There was a constant, solid beat of cars driving down the street. There was a pulse as the cars drove over the manhole coverings, sounding a deep thunk in the night. Honking horns and alternate sirens ringing out through the night played out a throbbing melody. The air conditioning and water equipment from the buildings rumbled out a tune.

Stepping out onto her stage tentatively in her slippered feet, she loosed her muscles and held her breath, waiting for the music of the night to seep into her. As it did she slowly let go; the nasty rumors about her sex life, the fight with her friends, and especially the look on his face when he saw her with Jake—all of it faded away to the music of the street and she danced, spinning on her tip-toes and arching her back in grace. Her adagio routine tried her muscles and eased her mind.

Calie spent hours, her grande jete taking her across the roof, accented with fondues and fouettes. Her heart was soothed to be dancing in the way she was born to dance. She was so at home and so in tune with herself through ballet that she caved in, letting her emotions take free reign on her dancing and her movements erupted with soul.

_[3:11am]_

Cailan's tumultuous dancing crashed to a stop as she mis-stepped over a rut in the roof that sent her sprawling. She lay there for a while, thinking over everything that had happened.

She needed a battle plan.

_13__th__ of October, Thursday 3:00pm_

"Are you kidding me!" Casey erupted with a catty screetch. "She's sick?"

"Her parents called in this morning. She's got a high fever and can't keep anything down. Now, Marlen, you'll be leading at tonight's competition. Alright girls, get to it."

The 'coach' blew her whistle and set the girls to warm ups, leaving them to it and walking over to flirt with the girls'-volleyball assistant coach. The cheer team warmed up, stretching and jumping and doing minor kicks; they were all tense and jittery: Cailan had never been absent from a competition.

"So, where's your master gone to, flaking out on us?" Casey demanded, giving Marlen a shove to get her attention under the radar.

"You heard coach, she's sick." Marlen said, trying to keep her voice from wavering.

"More like she's afraid to show her face," Amy snickered behind her hand to Casey. "She's started hearing what people have been saying."

"Amy, quiet, back in line," Marlen ordered, without the conviction that Cailan managed to hold in her voice.

The elder girl arched her brown and looked down at the captain's replacement. Her arms crossed and a series of hisses and cat calls rang through the team as they stared each other down. Marlen held her ground, trying to keep her heart from leaping out of her throat. She HAD to take control.

"Marlen, sweetie," Beth started, getting an idea. "We know that Cailan taught you everything you know, and took you under her wing and all, but, well, think about it,"

The blond slid her arm around Marlen's shoulders and broke the stare-down, winking to Amy. "Loyalty to Cailan…might not be the best thing to do. I mean, don't you want to have a team by next year?"

"Guys knock it off. Marlen, Cailan's always been your friend, just ignore her." Rachel said rolling her eyes and tossing a pompom at Beth. "C'mon, coach is looking this way you guys, let's get it together."

Meg paused on the outside of the whole thing, watching closely. Beth, Amy and Casey grouped off together to finish warming up and she could see them talking and shooting daggers at Marlen. They were easy to break down; anyone could see those three were jealous of Cailan. But, so was she. Meg took out her hair and brushed it back with her fingers, gaining time for herself to think while she pretended to have trouble getting it into a ponytail. She could make up with Cailan; the girl was almost too forgiving for her own good. But, if she did where did it leave her? She'd still be jealous, still be second best and, what's worse, is that she knew that rumors would start spreading about the girls closes to Cailan to break their alliance.

Was she willing to care about Cailan enough to do that?

…

_[7:39am]_

"Hello, this is Mrs. Leal. Yes, Cailan has come down with a bug or something, she's got a fever and I can't get her to keep anything down. I'm afraid we're going to keep her home from school today. Yes, grade eleven. Yes, thank you. Alright, have a good day. Alright, bu-bye." Cailan said into the phone, pressing her hand lightly against the hollow of her throat to make her voice deep and airy.

"Hello, this is Mrs. Jeffries. I'm calling to say that Natalia won't be able to come to school today. No, she caught a bug from her older sister. Oh, yes I know, I know. Kids—if one's sick the other isn't far behind. Okay, I will. Take care now, thank you."

Hanging up the payphone Cailan smiled and drew her jacket around her tighter to fight the morning chill. Then she walked slowly back up the fire escape—her feet were cold against the morning metal—and crawled back into bed. Natalia had crept in in the early morning and the elder girl found herself snuggling against her for warmth as she came back into the folds of sleep.

…

_[3:03pm]_

"Thanks again Calie!" Natalia said, giving the elder girl a big hug and darting up the stairs into their building.

Calie held her smile just long enough for the girl to run out of sight and then pulled her disposable cell from her pocket; the caller id said it was Marlen. She thought a moment and then closed her cell and headed towards the door. In the back of her mind she wanted nothing more than to walk up the stairs to an empty room. Calie had herself to look after; adding a child to the mix had never been in the plan, and it was beginning to become a burden.

…

_[3:03pm]_

"ARg. Calie, seriously! I know your sick…but I could use some help here! I really need to talk to you before our competition tonight…I need your support. I don't think I can do this alone…" Marlen said quietly into the phone as she hid behind the bleachers.

The girls were on water break; she'd only be subbing in for Calie for a day and she knew already that things were going to get bad very quickly.


	8. Downpour part 2

_**A/N: Thanks for loyal readers and comment-ers. I will say for those who don't like this story, I have a simple solution: Don't. Read. It. It is written how I WANT it to be and how I see fit. If you can't handle that then please go somewhere else. My fanfic, my rules. Now, enjoy the next chapter…it's a bit more gruesome. (quote in intro paragraph belongs to Ripper (2001, movie)).**_

_**[**EDIT: I have had to split it into three parts because it's so long and taking so much time to write out. So the part 3 will hold all the gruesome detailing and fun]**_

_14__th__ of October, Friday 12:13am_

"Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jump over the candle stick," the boy with a jack-o-lantern head muttered out, the eyes of his 'head' wide and cruel, staring vacantly at him. "I know I am Jack. Cunning Jack. Quiet Jack. Jack's my name. Jack whose sword never sleeps. Not the good shepherd. Not the prince of peace. I'm right Jack. Spring out Jack. Saucy Jack. Jack from Hell—"

"Cool it Jack." Baal said, shoving the smaller figure roughly out of the way. Now almost out of sight line, he watched Jack turn his empty eyes on the leader and stare for a moment. Then Jack slithered away into the night. "Now,"

Baal turned his attention to their captive.

…

_14th of October, Friday 11:25am_

"Uh, hey Callie," Wally said, inching towards the girl's locker sheepishly.

"Oh. Hi Wally." She said, hardly giving him a glance.

He felt the ice slide off her shoulders in response to his presence. He knew she was mad at him—she wasn't trying at all to hide it. She was stiff and unresponsive and didn't even try for a smile.

"Is there something you wanted?" she asked curtly, slamming her locker and squaring her shoulders to face him; she held all the authority of 'queen-bee' now, tossing her hair back over her shoulders.

"…well…yeah…I just…I wanted to say I'm sorry," he said, offering an apologetic smile up to her with a little shrug of the shoulders.

"Oh. Alright," he couldn't read her face—there wasn't any expression there to read—as she began to turn away from him.

"Is that all?" he said suddenly, stopping her before she'd walked away, his brow furrowed. "I mean…look, I know I was kinda a jerk and all but…I've been having a rough time and I just was having a bad day. I didn't mean to—"

"To what?" she interrupted. "to take out your frustrations on me when all I've done is be a friend? To treat me like crap for absolutely no reason at all? Like I said. Fine, whatever Wally. Catch ya around." She sneered; she knew it was wrong. She had the voice at the back of her mind like anyone else that told her she should be shutting her face right about now. Not that she listened to it.

"That's not fair, it was one bad day." He said, completely bewildered as to why, out of nowhere, she was so angry with him.

"…and, your point is…?" her eyes were cold as she purred out her snotty reply before turning with a flip of her hair and walking off to lunch.

…

"Geez man what's eating you?" Conner asked as he settled his tray on the lunch table.

Wally picked at his food, not in the mood to eat. "Nothing,"

The other's exchanged looks with each other, resuming the everyday ritual of lunch.

…

_[2:03pm]_

"Hey,"

"Hey," Wally replied as Artemis took an unexpected seat next to him.

"So..."

"Look…"

"I'm sorry" they said in unison, looking to the other with surprised eyes.

Artemis smiled and rolled her eyes as she got out her notebook and pencil and Wally allowed himself a clownish grin of amusement.

Class preceded as usual, the teacher instructing them to write for fifteen minutes in their journals. Despite sitting at the front of class, Wally and Artemis dared to pass notes to each other throughout. It boiled down to why they'd been acting how they had (even though Wally tried to goof the situation off smoothly). The dismissal bell rang at 2:40 they stood and erupted their conversation to spoken words instead of written ones.

"I just don't understand why she's got you all twisted up." The blond asserted, blocking Wally's immediate escape path.

"…I dunno. It's not like it matters now anyways. I messed things up and she won't talk to me. Can we just change the topic already? Like, how 'bout to Conner's stony and emotionless terminator-face, huh?" he nudged her in the side, grinning like a loon at his poor attempt at some humor.

"Tch, Wally." She shook her head at him. "…What happened?"

With a shrug and nonchalance Wally joked his way through the story of the 'fight' he'd had wit Cailan in the hallway, after he eluded to the previous confrontation. He was moving fast in his feelings about the girl; from infatuation to possibility of romance to…wherever they were with each other now.

"Look, I know you had a serious thing for her and all, but, tell me this," she took him by the shoulder and looked him intently in the eye. "Do you really know anything about her?"

The ginger looked at her as if she were crazy. "Yeah. She's a cheerleader with killer dance moves who…until today, was nice to everyone."

"No, that's not what I mean." Artemis sighed and continued walking along. "Like, what's her favorite color?"

Wally paused and thought a moment.

"Alright, what kind of music does she listen to?"

"Oh, oh! I've got this one!" he punched the air. "She ALWAYS plays Tokyo Hotel at the practices,"

Artemis just stared at him. "…okhaayy…. But, what music does _she_ like? To, ya know, just listen to?"

Wally was again perplexed.

"Okay, what sort of movies does she watch? What sort of food does she like to eat? Or, say, what are her hobbies? I mean, she's got to do _something _other than dance. What do you really know about the girl Wally?"

Studying the ground as they walked to the slightly un-authentic 'bodega' together for sodas, Wally thought long and hard about what Artemis was saying. It was true: he really didn't know anything about the girl. He knew she wore the school colors a lot, and that she liked to dance, and that she was usually seen alone or with the girls from either cheerleading or the dance squad. But his friend was right: he didn't know who Cailan was.

"Look, Megan is on the j.v cheer squad, and she couldn't tell me anymore than you could about this girl. Ask around school Wally, find out who, if anyone, _really _knows this girl."

…

_[12:15am]_

"What do you want?" Jake asked through his busted lip.

"Sh." Baal spat out with a wicked grin, putting a disgustingly long fingernail-ed digit to his lips. "Here, see this?"

The Raggedy-Anne girl, Patch, brought out a tray of candies and flourished them around like a very slutty Vana White.

"Know what this is?" Jake shook his head quickly. "Hahaha! This is the Joker's newest product. Genius, really. We're calling it Product X, for now. Here, try some,"

Unwrapping one of the poison-purple candies slowly, letting it glimmer in the light of the exposed bulb hanging from the warehouse ceiling. He then proceeded to forcefully thrust it into Jake's mouth, almost making him gag.

"Pretty good, isn't it?" Baal leered, his nose nearly touching Jake's.

Jake's brown eyes rolled back in his head as he sucked on the candy. It felt like little explosions were going off all throughout his brain making his body tingle. Then all of a sudden he was flying. His body had absolutely no weight to it at all, it seemed. His body became hot and sensitive to everything; the feeling of the ropes around his arms and chest were making him squirm and his breath start to hitch. He began hearing colors; the candy appeared to have the ability to reroute connections in the brain. He began to see 3-D life in 3-D, sending his mind into a tangle of sorting out dimensions until he felt like he was falling through empty space.

"Heh, yeah. The only trouble, at least, for you, is that this stuff is _highly_ addictive; I'd bet two to one you're hooked after one taste." Baal said, grabbing the teen by his burnt-umber hair and pulling his unresponsive head back.

The ring-leader grinned over at his associates whose smiles loomed back at him in the dim lights. He nodded to Patch who set down the tray of drugged-sweets and straddled Jake's lap. She slowly began dancing on him, aggravating his senses and snapping him into a semi-lucid state. With a smile she took a piece of her outfit and wrapped it around his neck, slowly pulling it tighter and watching him gag helplessly. She'd relax it, grind down on him and then snap it tight again.

"Alright, enough fun," Baal grabbed Patch by her hair and threw her off their prisoner, pulling a pen-sized needle from the tray and dragging it along Jake's skin. "See, this drug makes you really sensitive, not just to this whore's grinding, but also your pain receptors. Here, let me show you,"

The demonstration was a pin-prick to Jake's forearm. The prick sent Jake screaming and twisting in agony, as if he'd had an ice pick stabbed straight through his arm.

"Alright Fleabag, lock him up. We gotta wait for our demonstration to wear off." Baal commanded.

The hyena-like boy snarled, foam decorating his snout and slashed the ropes from around their captive, dragging him by the collar to a shipping container stored in the warehouse.

…

_17__th__ of October, Monday 1:09pm_

"Hey Amanda." Wally said, using his goofy charisma for the umpteenth time that afternoon as he sidled over to the varsity cheerleader.

"Hiyy…..urhm, what's your name?" she asked, tilting her head; she had hair as black as space but she had the personality of a snow-white blond.

"…Wally. Wally West?"

"Oh, right! Hiyy Wally! What's up?" she smiled a big, lip-glazed smile at the kid and set her salad lunch aside, as if listening to him required all of her concentration (which, for Amanda, it probably did).

"Uh, right. Well…I wanted to do something nice for Calie. We…kinda had a fight I guess. But, here's the thing, I can't really pin down what she'd like or what she's into."

"Hm. Well, you and the rest of the school. Cailan seems to be having issues with everyone lately." The girl said, looking up to think. "The girls on the team are really starting to pitch a fit about her."

Wally waited while the girl sat musing for a while longer before clearing his throat.

"Hm?" she asked, looking to him with big brown eyes.

"…uh, well, could you help me out?" she looked at him, as if dazed. "…with…things that Cailan is interested in…?"

"Oh!" the girl's face brightened as her memory was refreshed. "Sure! Well…she's really good at dancing. And…she wears nail polish that matches the school's colors! Hm. Oh! And she was saying that she needed a new purse."

"…" Wally looked at the girl who sat grinning before him. She seemed so happy to have helped him that he just thanked her and walked away, more disappointed and worse off than before he'd started his endeavor.

All morning long Wally had been asking around about Cailan—who'd pulled another sick day at school—with any cheerleader, dancer or gymnast he could come across, which included guys he knew personally who were on the team. And after a morning of searching, probing and questioning, he come up with nothing. The only thing anyone was able to say about Cailan was that she was graceful, liked dancing, and wore the school colors, a lot.

They didn't know anything about her family, like if she had siblings or if her parents were divorced; they didn't know what Cailan's middle name was, or why she was into dance. No one could tell him her favorite color, or flower, or food. They couldn't even remember having ever been to her house or heard where she lived. For three years, Cailan had sat at the top of the high-school-food-chain, and not one person could tell him a thing about her.

"I don't get it." Wally said at lunch. "She's like…a ghost. How can no one know about her? It's like, other than her face, her dance and her school spirit, she doesn't exist."


	9. Downpour part 3

_**[Downpour cont.] Part 3**_

"Baal you're gonna kill'em!" Patch screamed, running over to the ringleader and grabbing his arm.

Amused, Baal quirked a painted eyebrow at her and grinned, dropping Jake to the ground.

"Oh, trust me, death would be the least of his problems babe." He swatted at the girl, his hand glancing her cheek. __

…

_27th of October, Thursday_

"_Ms. Leal to the office, Ms. Leal, to the office please." _

Wally looked up from his locker at the speakers. Cailan had been in and out of school irregularly for the past ten days. She hadn't even glanced at him when she walked by him. He was sure she was going to be in trouble, maybe detentions, or even a suspension.

"What do you think's going on?" he asked Conner. The other boy quirked his eyebrow and shrugged. He glanced over Cailan as she walked by (Wally noted his eyes linger for just a fraction) and then looked at him.

"Dunno. Don't really care. Dude, give it up; she's not interested in you and whatever's going on with her, she doesn't want to share it. C'mon."

Wally didn't see Cali again until after lunch. She was coming out of the office—the counselor's wing—in front of two officers. Her face was dazed and she was pale.

"Thank you, Ms." The officers said rather curtly before they brushed past her, closing notebooks and placing pens back into their belts.

"I thought Mr. McAlister's…absence may have been the reason for your recent attitude, Ms. Leal. Quite frankly, as this is not the case you've got some explaining to do. We can start with your slipping grades and move on to why you've been skipping school and practices lately." KF heard the principal say before he sped off to the open door to beat the cops to their own car.

The young red-headed hero wanted to hear what the officers had to say about Jake.

…

_[1:46 pm]_

"Dick I need you to look up something," Wally demanded, suddenly appearing at the boy-wonder's side, his speed sending papers ruffling on the teacher's desk as Dick sat at the computer.

"You're not supposed to do that!" Dick hissed sideways, already typing into his search engine and bypassing the school's protective blocks. "What?"

"Find out everything you can on Jake McAlister." Wally said solemnly.

"…" Dick paused and shot Wally a disbelieving glance. "This had better not have anything to do with Cailan and Jake being together…"

"Dude!" Wally ducked down just as the teacher looked up. "Jake hasn't been around in like, ten days, the cops were here."

"What did they say?" Dick demanded, his fingers flying over the keyboard the second he sensed something was up.

"Not a lot. Just that Cali is thought to be involved; they're convinced it's a runaway case."

Dick paused for a moment and then resumed typing. Things like this weren't surprising anymore, not really.

"School records say he's been gone straight for ten days. His parents didn't call in till this morning. He's done things like this before; mostly hiding from people he owes money to for drugs. He's got a history of fights, busted for pot, other than that…" Dick's eyes scanned the pages as they flew by him on the monitor.

"Crap!" Wally ducked down just as Cailan walked in the door; her eyes were rimmed red and her face was still pale; she looked as if she'd been sick or crying. Her hair didn't seem as glossy now, her eyes had lost their shimmer.

She didn't even acknowledge the teacher as she walked past Mrs. Kelly's desk and slumped into her own seat down the row of computers. Wally gauged it'd been a quick talk between her and the principal, and it didn't look like it'd ended well.

"Wanna talk to her?" Dick asked, nudging his friend.

"You crazy? I'm not even supposed to be in here."

Dick rolled his eyes. More typing and a chat box popped up on screen.

_Gothem_red07: What's up this time?_

It took Cali a long time to answer; Wally held baited breath and he didn't understand why.

_the13th: wats it matter._

_Gothem_red07: Because you're obviously distraught._

_the13th: nunyabusiness._

_Gothem_red07: I'm just trying to help._

_the13th: Don't. _

Dick sneered and scoffed, giving up and going back to his work. After persistence and annoyance, Dick pulled up his chat on another computer for Wally.

_Gothem_red07: you still there?_

_the13th: I told you. Leave me alone._

_Gothem_red07: is Jake alright?_

He saw Cali straighten up and look around the room, surprised. Catching the teacher's disapproving glare she looked back to the screen.

_the13th: I don't know where he is._

…

_20__th__ of October, Thursday_

"PLEASE!" Jake screamed as the shock ripped through his body.

Baal didn't know if he was screaming in pain or screaming for more of the drug. He turned off the switch and looked back to the boy, cocking his head.

"please," Jake whispered, his eyes big and pained "I'll do whatever you want…what do you want?"

Baal just grinned and started walking around the warehouse, eyeing his captive with a merciless gaze. He rummaged in the tools and walked along the walls, talking about whatever instrument he picked up, concocting whatever lies came into his head about the wicked-looking tools. When he got to a pair of oddly shaped pliers his grin grew wicked and he walked slowly back to Jake.

"Oh, this is gonna be real fun," Baal hissed.

As an afterthought he shoved one of Patch's rags into his victim's mouth, deep enough down to gag him. He then proceeded to methodically break the fingers of Jake's right hand at each joint. Baal did so slowly, easing each joint to crack before finally splitting. This left the pain lingering and, because of the drawn out duration, Jake was kept conscious.

Jake was heavily doped up on Product X, making his pain nearly past enduring but his endurance all the stronger. Twice, Baal ordered Patch to remove the rag from Jake's mouth so he could vomit on the floor instead of choking himself.

But Baal was simply getting started. He enjoyed the screams of agony as if they were music that had been written just for him. After he'd broken just about every bone in Jake's right hand he searched for another instrument. In his absence he told the other's to soak the captive in the frigid water's from the building's ancient pipes; the effect was that Jake fancied himself being sliced to pieces by billions of ice crystals. When Baal returned he carried nothing but a slip of brown paper.

"…what're you gonna do, paper-cut him to death?" Patch rolled her eyes.

Baal turned his iniquitous eyes upon the girl. This time the blow he dealt her wasn't a grazing hit. She landed squarely on her butt and he fell to her, pinning her body down, getting between her legs with a hand on her throat. He bore his weight down on her, his smile growing as well as another reaction as he watched her gag. He ground his lower half into her, quirking an eyebrow at her as she struggled to get away.

He laughed and got up, punching her in the face and leaving her lie.

Baal resumed his attentions to Jake, ruminating over the piece of paper as he paced around Jake's chair. Taking the broken hand of his captive gingerly in his hand Baal crouched down and placed the piece of paper over the skin. He slowly began to pull the paper to one side and it was only then that Jake realized Baal was using sand paper. Baal was sanding off his skin.

Baal began to rub faster and faster, grinning at Jake's hand as—swipe by swipe—more pinkish tissue was revealed underneath the pale white skin.

"Baal,"

The cold voice rang out with laughter through the darkened, abandoned warehouse. "My dear boy, that is quite enough. Your uncle has…purposes for this one…"

…

_27__th__ of October, Thursday _

_1:47pm_

_Gothem_red07: isn't he your boyfriend? _Wally typed out furiously with two fingers, suddenly angry and not understanding.

_the13th: even if he was it isn't any of your business. Told you, leave. Me. alone. _

_Gothem_red07: I'm only concerned! _

_[the13th has blocked your messages from being viewed.] _

Wally hit enter several more times, all with the same result.

_[the13th has blocked your messages from being viewed.]_

_[the13th has blocked your messages from being viewed.]_

_[the13th has blocked your messages from being viewed.]_

"Hey! Knock it off!" Robin growled, shooting Wally a look and grabbing his hands off the keyboard.

"Mrs. Kelly, I need a word with one of your students," the vice principal and counselor said, peaking his mouse-like head around the corner. "Ms. Leal, if you could come with me please,"

"…" Cailan continued typing, as if she hadn't heard him.

"Ms. Leal," he said a bit louder, garnering the entire class' attention. "If you would please come with—"

"No, thanks."

The room was a silent as a tomb, save for the girl's fingers dancing across her keyboard, typing something or other out. The vice principal seemed stunned and stood gaping at her from the hallway.

"Ms. Leal!" Mrs. Kelly gasped, obviously perturbed, snapping the vice principal from his idiotic stupor.

"I am afraid you don't really have a choice. I would like to see you in my office. Now."

"I really don't feel like talking. Not to you, or anyone." She never took her eyes from the computer but Wally and Dick heard the tremor in her voice.

_Is her composure breaking? _Dick thought.

_Dude…she's so pissed! _Wally said to himself.

"Cailan Leal if you refuse to come to my office it will be a detention." The man in the doorway said, to little effect.

Cailan's hands were trembling. She knew what this was about. Her grades were in the toilet—thanks to these last few days especially, but also to her dedication to the teams she'd been on. Those teams were suffering now as well, thanks to her crappy grades stressing her out and Jake taking up half her brain. She felt…horrible and wonderful with him. She knew it was about her, and him, and what had happened and why he was gone and why she was failing school—life—and for what reason.

"For a week." The man added, stepping more into the classroom now, glaring at the girl.

"I really don't give a…shit." She said, her breath catching on the last word. People began to stare at her. She was losing her mind.

Her breath shook. Cali had been the school's princess. She'd been popular enough to stay under the radar of just about everything, except praise for her wonderful performances and the trophies she won the school. She knew she should shut her mouth and just apologize and go back to being the princess of the school. She couldn't let anyone find out what was going on. It'd ruin everything.

"Cailan if you don't get your butt to my office this instant you'll have detention, Saturday school and I.S.S for a month. And I'll be calling your parents in for a reason as to your behavior." The v.p. though his voice tight, kept rather calm in the situation.

Cailan's hands froze on the computer. Everyone felt the shift in atmosphere. Slowly she closed out of what she was doing, picked up her things, and, with her head held high, lead the vice principal out of the classroom.

…

_3:08 pm_

Rumors had been circulating about her faster than ever. She knew that.

Cailan had been kept by the vice principal and then the principal until a few moments ago. The halls were just about empty; it still felt like she had hundreds of eyes on her. But it wasn't like she was used to. The eyes weren't appraising her or raising her up. They were judging her, condemning her.

She bristled and straightened herself, walking with a deliberate purpose to her locker. Irate at the situation she began throwing the contents of her locker into her bag. She knew it was her own fault and that knowledge only caused her to throw her things more vehemently into the fabric she held on her arm, as if doing so would rid her of what she was feeling.

It fit that there was a storm raging outside. One of the worst they'd seen this year. She took her throws on cue from the thunder. Tears began welling up and she forced them back down. She had to get outside, out into the torrent. If she did, no one would know she was crying.

The air was cold as she burst through the school doors. She was soaked almost instantaneously from walking out from under the protection of the walkway. Cailan still walked with her head high, still walked with purpose, her feet placed deliberately on the ground.

Her hair was a mess around her, the wind tore it up and around, slapping her in the face. She pressed on, letting her eyes cloud with salty tears and letting those tears slip down her face. She was going to go home, strip, and sleep.

Cali was delayed. As she walked down the way her bag caught hold of something, snagged, ripped and then tore, spilling her contents on to the watery ground. She froze at the sound, watching it happen in slow motion. She stood there, staring at her pile of books and papers and clothes, watching her possessions get soaked in the rain and mud.

Cailan let out a furious scream and slung the ruined pack onto the ground. She dropped to her knees and began throwing her things in a pile. Her anger caused her to throw her books carelessly, sending one into a puddle of mud which consequently splashed her, ruining her clothes. Cailan sat on her heels, staring at the mess she'd made for herself. Letting her hands slip and her shoulders relax, she sat there. And then she started giggling. Her giggles became hysterics and she laughed until she wasn't sure she was laughing, crying or choking.

…

_3:08pm_

Kaldur walked slowly out from the pool area. Dick had hacked the school and sent a notification out saying the pool was closed after school so his leader would have it all to himself. It was selfish, Kaldur knew, and it hadn't been using Dick's hacking abilities to their full—good—potential, but he'd needed a brisk swim that day before going back to the layer to deal with his team. While he preferred the sea, Aqualad found the peace of solitude in the chlorinated waters of the school's pool.

It was raining as he walked outside, sneaking past the few remaining teachers. He didn't mind the rain—water was his element. His walk home would have been uneventful, save for the fact that he saw someone walking alone in the rain. He recognized her as Cailan by the way she moved. He'd never seen anyone—in or out of the water—that could move with the grace she held. And while her body moved with grace, he noted that today her behavior wasn't marred in it as well.

Her bag became caught and tore on something, spilling out her contents. He saw her lose her temper and begin throwing her things around. He didn't begin to change his direction and go over towards her until he saw her laughing hysterically in the rain.

"You are soaked to the bone," he said, holding his own bag over his head so he could look properly at her.

She stopped giggling (or crying, he wasn't sure which) and looked at him.

"…what do you care?"

"That is rude." He said simply, nowhere in his voice was there reprimand or chastising.

"But valid."

"You are a friend, are you not?" he asked, bending down and beginning to gather her things.

"Am I?" she asked him right back, not moving to help him. "And just what do you know about me, if we're friends?"

"That right now, you are hurting."

…

He'd said it so simply it caught her off guard.

She closed her mouth and watched him for a moment. Cal moved with deliberants, but in a way she couldn't explain. Not knowing what to retort, she began grabbing her things, trying to get to them before he could.

Once everything was collected he helped her fit it carefully into the torn bag, holding it so that the contents would not spill out again. Together they shuffled to the bus stop, taking refuge under the overhang above the seats. The October sky was darkened by clouds and there were few people around the city of Gothem as of yet. For a while they sat in silence.

"Wally likes you very much, you know," Kaldur said to her quietly, not knowing why he said it.

"I know." She answered, fully aware now that she _had_ known.

Again they lapsed into silence, sitting side by side comfortably, if cold, in the rain under the protective covering of the bus hut.

"And yet." Kaldur said, picking up the conversation as if they hadn't left off.

"There's someone better for him." She said plainly.

Kaldur used his skilled restraint not to become offended. He took it to mean that Wally was not suited for her, that she was too high class for him. Her tone didn't betray whether that was what she meant or not.

"Why were you crying?" Kaldur asked after another long pause, again speaking as if there had been no break in conversation.

"I was crying?" she asked back, not looking anywhere but ahead; he sensed a shift in her attitude from vacant to coy in an instant.

"Crying in your laughter, yes. I do not believe today there was a difference between the two, for you at least."

"Observant." She said, her voice getting slightly colder, taking on the resonance of a queen bee again.

"If you wish not to speak to me you are free to leave, or to not reply. You need not be un-cordial, as I have done nothing to deserve it." The Atlantian said, his voice becoming curt and sharp.

This garnered her attention and she looked at him. Guys had yelled at her before, had smooth talked her; they'd gotten defensive and submissive and threatening before, but none had ever been…nonchalant and disappointed at her before.

"Bad day, I guess." She said, feeling like a child who's been reprimanded for a tantrum.

"One that warrants tears?"

"If someone you cared about just vanished, would you act like nothing had happened to them?" she said, her voice shifting out of everything he'd heard from her before; she was coy, she was undermining and sly, she was manipulative sometimes, flattering, she could be fake and she could be cold, but he'd never heard her sound so defeated.

"You can talk to me if you wish Cailan, I have no reason to tell anyone else."

He saw the wry smile and knew she'd shut him out.

"I don't need a shrink, Cal. Especially one as under-qualified as you. Thanks, for helping with my things. See ya'round."

Her queen-bee attitude was back; she was aloof and distant and somehow cold as she smiled at him. He saw something flicker inside her eyes before she turned away and walked down the street. The bus was coming but she didn't seem to care.

Kaldur let the bus pass by, ignoring the open doors. He caught the next bus, nearly an hour later, knowing he team needed him as leader, knowing he was late for his responsibilities.

_Ah, Tula. _He thought; he wasn't sure why she'd come to his mind, except that, while Tula had frustrated him, it had never been in such a way that he became self-antagonizing in his frustrations the way Cailan did. _Why is she familiar? She is nothing like you, nothing at all. _

…

_6:16pm_

Their practice had gone over well. Wally and Artemis were both back, though banned from missions as of yet. Kaldur had seen them begin to reconcile at practices and had seen them laughing together in the halls. But that had never been the point. His punishment hadn't been to simply reconcile them; he wanted them to understand.

It seemed, they were beginning to.

"Kaldur, what's on your mind?" Megan asked, stretching as she walked out of the training room with Conner; both had pleased smiles on their faces.

"Hm? Oh…nothing."

"Hey, Megan," Wally asked, wiping the smile off Conner's face (Wally always teased him). "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course Wally," Megan smiled at him. "What is it?"

"…Well, what do you know about Cailan?"

"…Artemis asked that same thing," Megan mused. "Well, like I told her Wally, I really don't know much more than anyone else. She's always nice when she's directed the JV cheer team, and she seems like a fun person all around, but outside of that…"

"Yeah, outside of her dancing and her love for the school colors, no one knows a thing about her." Wally said, letting his head fall backwards, tipping his face to the ceiling.

"Wally, perhaps it is best if you just let it go," Kaldur said, trying his best to be gentle and hoping he was saying this for the right reasons.

"…huh…but—"

"Wally she is not…looking for anyone right now," Kaldur said in the most fatherly tone he could manage.

…

_6:18pm_

Wally West stared at the tall, dark boy before him; Kaldur's eyes held a gaze that Wally didn't understand. It took the paler freckled boy a moment to understand that Kaldur was telling him Cali wasn't interested.

"Oh."

Kaldur relaxed his shoulders; it was much less painless than he thought it would have been.

"Still. I guess at this point it's a matter of needing to know the answers." Wally said, shocking his leader into staring hard at him. "It's part of being a scientist,"

Wally shrugged; he was feigning off the hurt of knowing Cali wasn't interested. He thought back to how she'd smiled at him asking for his help; the memory started to burn into him, her smile was changing from 'innocent' to 'user'.

"He still going on about Cailan?" Dick asked, popping out of the shadows as he was prone to doing.

Conner rolled his eyes and gave up; he looked over and Megan but she was off, flitting about between Dick and Wally catching up on what had happened and throwing in her own tidbits of information where she could. Kaldur caught Conner's eye, for a moment, and the black-headed boy let out a low growl before storming out.

…

"And you're sure this'll work?" Wally asked as they crowded around the computer system.

"Course it's gonna work." Dick glared. "The only problem will be if Megan can tell through electronics or not."

"I can't Robin, I can only read the thoughts of organic things."

"That is the idea. However, you will be using the computer as…think of it as an extension." Kaldur said softly.

"…wait, we need someone else to talk to her." Dick said.

"Huh? Why? This is my show!" Wally said, straightening from his crouching position.

"Because you don't know what to say. Last time you got her so mad she blocked my name!" Dick said, frowning.

"Kaldur, you're good with people…you could talk to her." Megan suggested, tilting her head at him.

"Me?" Kaldur asked, taken aback.

"Yeah!" Dick agreed, furiously typing once again.

"…I guess you are good with people," Wally said, not knowing what else he'd be able to do.

Resigned with the task and having no other obligations, Kaldur said "What is my name?"

…

_[atlantian_hero is sending you a message request] _

"…could you have been any more conspicuous?" Kaldur

Dick chuckled. "Hey man, it's the internet. No one takes any of it seriously."

_the13th: hello?_

_atlantian_hero: hi, Cailan? _

_the13th: who is this?_

"Say you need help on homework."

The group around the computer turned and saw Artemis with her arms folded over her chest. "Hurry up before she blocks you for not answering. Ask her for help on homework."

_atlantian_hero: oh, good, I was wondering if you could help me out. I can't remember the homework for…_

"what class?" Kaldur asked, rushed.

_Mrs. Wilkens class? She said it'd be okay to message you about it. _Wally jumped to the keyboard.

_the13th: oh. Yeah, it's cool. Are you in my hour?_

Wally furiously shook his head.

_atlantian_hero: nah, I'm in her fourth hour._

_the13th: cool, you likin the class?_

_atlantian_hero: yeah it's cool_

_the13th: good. Alright, the homework was to read acts one thru three in romeo and Juliet and answer the questions in your book._

_the13th: do you have your book?_

_atlantian_hero: uh, no_

There was a pause and Artemis walked over to the computer; the heroes looked at one another, wondering if Cailan had found them out, if she was now ignoring them.

_the13th: alright, here's a link to the site. Good luck. _

_atlantian_hero: wait_

_the13th: ?_

_atlantian_hero: well, do you tutor in English?_

_the13th: yeah…_

_the13th: you don't really need help with English, do you?_

_the13th: look, whoever this is, what do you want, cause, I gotta go soon. _

_atlantian_hero: okay, the truth of it is, I'm a fan._

Artemis knocked Kaldur's hands away and crouched over the keyboard.

_the13th: what are you talking about?_

_atlantian_hero: you kill on the dance team. _

_the13th: thanks. _

_atlantian_hero:give a kid some tips?_

_the13th: do you love it?_

_atlantian_hero: ?_

_the13th: do you love to dance?_

_atlantian_hero: yeah, I guess. _

_the13th: then it's the only thing that matters. _

_[the13th has logged off.] _

…

"Well?" Artemis demanded, turning to Megan with a haughty look.

Megan shook her head. "Sorry you guys,"

"A fan huh?" Wally quirked a brow.

"I was only helping you."

…

Cailan sighed and logged off the visitor's screen page at the internet café. Grabbing her pack she stretched. She had to pick up Natalia from Jenny's, then go and clean Ms. Geinsberg's apartment; that was the deal. Cleaning, some cooking and general upkeep; that was the payment.

"Hey girly," Cailan said, smiling as Natalia ran to the door from the Richenson's house. "Thanks for letting her say over for dinner Mr. and Mrs. Richenson."

"It really wasn't any trouble dear," Mrs. Richenson said. "How are your parents doing?"

"Both doing real well." Cailan nodded, keeping her smile.

"Old man working hard?" Mr. Richenson asked, giving her a funny look.

"Hah, don't know the half of it. He works real late most nights now. He wants to send me to Julliard." She lied, smiling through her teeth.

"And your mother? I wasn't aware she worked." Mrs. Richenson smiled, closing the door a little behind her, a subtle sign that said the adults wanted to talk.

"Well, she isn't really. She free lances around a little here and there. Right now she's visiting her aunt… Maine or Massachusetts; somewhere up east. Mom and her were real close when mom was a kid."

"And, she didn't take the two of you with her?" Mr. Richenson's face now held a look Cailan knew as suspicion.

"Nope." She smiled warmly at them. "There was a falling out with my grandma and her sister. My mom wasn't allowed to see her for a long time; she didn't really talk to her much until my grandma died. Now she's sick so mom's up staying with her."

She shrugged indifferently and took a step back. "I've got dinner going and Natalia really needs to get her work done. It was so nice to talk with you!"

"Wait, would you like me to drive you home?" Mr. Richenson asked, "It'll be faster, and it's not safe for two girls to take the bus in this city."

Cailan was caught. If she said yes it meant another twenty minutes talking with them. If she said no it was a sure giveaway that she was lying, and who knew who she'd call after that!

"That's alright," she thought on her feet. "We've got to get some things for a welcome home project Natalia wanted to do for mom. She'll be getting home this weekend."

"Oh, lovely! Have her call me when she's in!" Mrs. Richenson said, opening the door.

Cailan complied and turned to go, waving over her shoulder as she held her foster-sister's hand. Things were getting out of control. Her own school was breathing down her neck for her parents. Natalia's school was on her case about her parents. The Richensons were noticing that something wasn't right. It was all falling apart. The whole plan, the lies…

Her neatly fabricated world was unraveling before her eyes, and it was her own hand that'd pulled the thread that did it.


	10. Flooding Waters

_**A/N: hey guys on a bit of a spree so hopefully chapters come closer together now; if school doesn't get in the way. **_

_29th of October, Saturday_

_10:01pm_

"I do not understand." Kaldur said, leaning against the railing of the hero's mountain based hideout. "Crime is down as a total but drug rates among the youth continue to soar."

"There's not much more we can do about it Kaldur," Megan said.

He closed his eyes and sighed. Perhaps she was right. Perhaps it was simply a case for the Justice League.

"Robin, could you do me a favor?"

…

No one would be at the school on a Saturday night.

Kaldur was grateful he was right on that assumption. There was no one there as he entered the pool from the high diving board. He swam laps leisurely, carelessly. He missed swimming in Atlantis. He missed his home world where he knew everything.

_Ah, Tula. _

Floating along his back Kaldur thought back to that summer pool party. Cailan should not have had that anklet. That was Atlantian jewelry; it wasn't something that was found or given freely. So how could Cailan have gotten one…especially that particular one? He swam a few more laps before he became distracted by something.

Kaldur surfaced and looked around. Something was amiss. He swam to the edge and paused, listening hard. There was something wrong. He pulled himself from the pool and toweled.

As he walked along the tiled floor of the pool-hall, he didn't know he was about to fall in love. He didn't know that after he walked through the hall and looked through the gym door his world was going to be tossed upside down. Kaldur didn't know that his feelings for Tula were merely memories he kept kindled for want of his home and his old life. Or, for that matter, that those feelings were about to be erased.

…

_10:10pm_

Natalia was in bed, back at the apartment asleep. Cailan breathed a sigh and hooked up the speakers. Mozart's _Requiem _began sifting through the speakers on gentled, clouded sound waves. She stepped back and let her body relax and began weaving back and forth. In time with the music she lifted to her slippered feet and her grace began in full.

She piqué –ed across the floor and spun, extending a leg out behind her, dipping deeply and coming back with her arms like willow branches in the wind. She twirled along the wood floor like a flower in a stream. Brisé voles were performed as her figure graced across what had become her stage. Cabrioles came easily and naturally to her as she skirted around on the floor. All she missed as she danced was a cavalier.

As _Requiem _continued on past the first break she became almost wild, tossing her body around—practicedly, of course—and not giving herself time to think before her body was moving. She was on her toes bending and swaying, she was leaping across from point a to point b; her hair flew around her face and she spun again.

Cailan continued spinning and spinning, her pirouettes beautifully executed, her right leg extending and bending as she spun, her arms making her look like she was flying as they came in and out in an upward manner.

…

Kaldur dried his hair as he walked along. He'd figured out what was wrong with that night at the pool. He could hear music. There shouldn't have been any music.

Carefully he hung the towel on the bench of the guys' locker room and pushed open the door. The main lights were off; Cailan was illuminated by the center lights that ran a row down the middle of the gymnasium. Kaldur stood awe-struck in the doorway, his mouth hanging open. She was like a flower tossed carelessly into the waves of an ocean.

He watched her cream legs move through the dim lights of the gym; there were undertones of gold and he had no doubt if she'd baked like the other girls on the cheerleading squad she'd be the traditional beach-babe. But she wasn't tan; she was pale, like the froth of the ocean's waves. Her hair was a dark chestnut that glittered with copper in the light as it sprayed around her as she turned. He'd never noticed the copper in it.

He noticed that she was picking up speed and as she did she began to stumble and wobble. Without warning she crumpled to the ground and the music crescendo-ed and played on. Kaldur's first reaction was to rush forward and see if she was okay. But he didn't make it more than a step before he froze. She didn't want his help, she didn't want him interfering.

She didn't see Kaldur watching her, had no idea she wasn't alone. She let her body just lie crumpled on the ground while she bawled. Mozart covered the sounds almost nicely; the echoes resounding off the walls rang in between the music's airwaves and distorted it. _Requiem _was on repeat and began playing over soon after it'd ended the first time through. Cailan adjusted herself on the floor and curled her knees to her chest.

The Atlantian didn't understand why it hurt him to see her hurting like she was.

…

_2:07am_

"Sh, sh-sh," Cailan adjusted her baggage and hushed the child. "It's alright sweetie, almost there,"

Natalia adjusted and squirmed, but stayed asleep. Cailan hadn't realized it would be so difficult to carry the kid and a small suitcase half way through town. It was stupid and ad-lib but she had no choice. Things were falling apart.

Cailan wasn't stupid. She _knew_ what would stir up with this; that there would be repercussions. But she couldn't get out of this. If Cailan were going to have any hope of saving things, it had to happen. And, putting the selfish want of her own protection aside, it was what was right for Natalia. Cailan had been selfish when she'd left, she'd been selfish when she'd let Natalia stay, and now she was being selfish in sending Natalia away. But there was slight redemption in the fact it was better for Natalia this way.

No one was on the bus, no one was on the streets. At least, not in the better neighborhoods, like around their schools. There wasn't a soul around to see Cailan carrying her foster sister through the streets of Gothem. Cailan's destination was to the outskirts of the city, almost off into the next district in fact. There was a free clinic was just past the Narrows. It was a busy place, with most of the hospital running as hectic as a traditional hospital's emergency ward. No one would notice her coming in.

And no one would notice her leaving a sleeping child.

…

_3:37am_

It was cold as she walked back through the streets of the Narrows. Of course she'd get lost. Nothing lasted in the Narrows, and that included directions. It'd been years since she'd been here, of course she wouldn't remember where to turn to get out. She was well aware of the looks she was getting. The old homeless people gazed at her with fearful or crazed eyes. Groups of druggies and teens out past curfew leered out from the dark at her as she passed their alleyways.

Hugging her jacket to her she looked away and hurried on. The Narrows is not where she wanted to be at night and there were several people she didn't want to meet in the dark alleys here. She was a dancer; she could maybe out run danger, if the need arose. But, walking through the midnight-blackness, followed perhaps—she'd be useless if it came out an out and out fight. She wasn't strong; she'd never learned self defense.

_Great. A fricking damsel-in-distress. Way to not be a cliché, Cailan. _The girl thought to herself as she hurried along. The apartment where she lived wasn't much but it was four walls and a locking door. Walking through the Narrows was seriously creeping her out. It'd been so long since she'd been down here…

_What miserable years…_

"Cali!"

Cailan jumped out of her skin and whirled around with a vengeance, her eyes wide. Her name, hissed out in the night in the crime-center of Gothem—it was enough to startle anyone. Especially a kid who knew she was doing something she shouldn't be doing.

"Cali, god Cali" a boy grabbed her arms hard and swung her around into the night into the side of a decrepit building. "they're everywhere, they're out there."

Jake's breath smelled heavily—of booze, bad breath and…vomit; his voice did little to reassure Cali as he gripped her arms even harder. Knowing it was Jake didn't take the wild look out of his eyes nor the hysteria out of his voice.

"They've been following me, they'll get you, watch out for the shadows!" Jake shoved her hard into the alley wall opposite the one they were against and she felt something ram into her side.

"we gotta run, gotta fly…fly like a bird no! No! Not a bird! A bat!" he crouched, hunching his back a little, looking around all over the place and holding her arms like they were his anchor to life itself. "It's the bats that's got it out for us, watch the bats!"

Cali vaguely knew what he was talking about; the Batman ran rampant around the slums of Gothem, cleaning up the dealers and the crime-lords of the streets.

"Where is it, what'd you do with it!" he began to demand of her, shoving her against the wall.

"Jake you're hurting me!" she started to struggle, managing to slap him.

The slap slowed him down and woke him up a little. He looked at her oddly now. And his voice fell to a whisper. "No, no no no no no….no. You, it's you Cali. We gotta run, run run as fast as we can!" he jumped and looked fiercely over his shoulder. "Look! We're afraid of the big bad bat! Run!"

His hand was like iron around her wrist and she couldn't stand straight as he led her pell-mell through the alley's and backstreets of the Narrows. She felt her shoulders and legs getting run into things of all natures; she was scared of what she'd look like once morning hit. It felt as if Jake were trying to rip her shoulder from her socket. Cailan couldn't get out of his grasp.

And she had no idea where they were going.

…

"Tula,"

The Atlantian girl turned and smiled. "Kaldur!"

"Tula, I need to talk with you," Aqualad said; he felt haggard and tired.

"Whatever is the matter Kaldur?" she asked, sensing he was in no mood for a long-winded reunion.

"…" he sighed heavily and sat down. "Many things Tula. The surface world seems to see nothing but crime and danger. It is so different than home,"

"You knew it was a tough job when you agreed to serve the King."

Kaldur'Ahm couldn't tell what tone her voice held.

"I have a question, one that I must ask you," he continued, ignoring her comment.

"And I am listening," she replied with a faint smile.

Kaldur took a breath and looked away. It was a hard memory to forget, but it was much more painful to remember it. "Tula, do you remember…when we were young children?" he asked carefully.

"Kaldur—" she began exasperatedly.

"Listen to me. Do you remember the…the gift I gave to you? It was an Atlantian ankle-bracelet…a braided band of silver-green thread, mother of pearl beading and…and a rare blue-glass-sea shell? It was many years ago but it is important; do you remember what happened to it after I gave it to you?"

Kaldur was unnerved when he turned to look at her. Tula had a peculiar look on her face.

"…Kaldur…it is true, we were once very close but… Kaldur you never gave me a gift of that kind. I know we were once…once, romantic, but… You know what kind of a bracelet that is, do you not Kaldur? Even if you had offered—and I accepted…I would have had to give it back now that Garth and I are together."

"But…Tula I remember. I gave it to you. It was sunset and summer—we'd gone to the surface world for an adventure… we were in a cove and—"

"Kaldur. We went to the surface many times—you went alone far more than with me— for adventures, and each time we got into trouble after. But as much as I remember these adventures with you, there was never a bracelet."

"Tula I know that I gave—"

"But not to me, Kaldur'Ahm." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder and standing. "I must go. Garth is waiting for me."

Kaldur was left stunned and confused. He knew he'd given a bracelet to her. He could remember it distinctly. They'd gone to a surface beach for excitement and adventure…to be alone. They were just children at the time, young, naïve, and innocent. He'd had it hidden for a while, waiting for when he should give it. He'd finally decided. It'd been the evening. It was Ruby Hour on the sea; the waters were a bloodied red with the setting sun; the sky was vibrant with shades of yellows and pinks and oranges, clouds looked like colored rags drifting in heavenly waters. He had watched her play in the waters; dancing as the waves lapped up around her feet, twirling in the sand. Her hair had shown like copper—

Kaldur stopped remembering. He knew he'd given that gift to Tula, intending to spend his life with her. He couldn't understand why she would deny it, or why she would fail to return the bracelet to him.

…

_Monday the 31__st__ of October,1:30pm_

"Great. First Jake, now Cailan." Wally said, throwing the newspaper, with the article on Jake, into the air.

"We don't know she's missing," Dick said, relaxing in a chair.

The day had let out early; half the teens of Gothem Academy had skipped Halloween altogether so the team was assembled in the mountain layer, debating which movies to watch for a true Halloween thrill.

"She has been skipping a lot lately," M'gann said, stretching and changing to her traditional clothes.

"What I'm more interested in is this kid suddenly showing up out of nowhere." Artemis said, picking up the paper and flipping it to the second page. "She's missing for like, six years and then just suddenly turns up?"

"Yeah, and no harm, no injuries; she doesn't remember where she lived. She just knows the school and her friends…it's crazy." Dick said, shaking his head.

"What's crazy?" Kaldur asked as he walked through the transport rubbing his eyes.

"A missing persons case was solved. A little girl went missing from her home when she was two, and now she's miraculously turned up, good as the day she left."

"Yeah, a kid by the name of Natalia Jeffries. Police were originally inclined to think it was a kidnapping, but there was no evidence to convince anyone and everyone just figured she'd wandered off." Artemis continued after Dick had left off. "Hey!"

The team looked at her, even Conner's interest was garnered by her sudden and uncharacteristic outburst.

"What is it, Artemis?" Kaldur asked, just sitting down to a comfortable seat on the nice, plush couch.

"Well, the kid's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jeffries…" the blond looked at them, her eyes big and rather surprised "they were foster parents…and the girl in the photo looks—"

"…it's Cailan…" Wally said, looking over her shoulder.

…

_2:46pm _

"Mr. and Mrs. Jeffries," Kaldur said, sitting down on the couch in a quaint little sitting room. "Thank you for letting us in,"

He, Dick and Artemis had gone to 'investigate'.

"You say you're friends of Cailan's? You…you've seen her?" Mrs. Jeffries said, holding Natalia close. The eight year old girl was curled up on her mother's lap, sleeping.

"Just why should we talk to you kids?" Mr. Jeffries demanded, standing and beginning to pace.

"John," his wife chastised. "You've seen her?"

"Well, we know a girl…who looks remarkably like her, ma'am." Kaldur said, nodding towards the father.

The adults shared a look.

"Is there something you haven't told the police?" Artemis asked boldly, looking from one to the other.

"How dare you—"

"What she means," Kaldur said, hastily covering for her bold outburst. "is just that, if the girl we know truly is Cailan…why would she have left?"

"Now see here!" the father said, lurching forward. His wife jumped up and nearly threw his baby-girl into his arms to pacify him.

"Please, ignore him." Mrs. Jeffries said, looking timidly back to the children. "He's defensive. You see, we were Cailan's foster parents until six years ago. We told the police everything back then too; she just up and left us one night. We…had thought, back then, that Cailan had…"

"Had taken her foster-sister with her." Dick filled in.

"Yes. It didn't make sense…not really. You see, Cailan is our niece."


	11. The Tsunami's Rage

_**A/N: Please, don't forget to review, it does mean a lot. Hope that this chapter clears up a few things.**_

_Monday the 31__st__ of October, 2:28pm_

"Pardon me?" Kaldur said, his head jerking up to meet Mrs. Jeffries eyes.

"Cailan…she's our niece. We weren't named as the guardians in her parents will—"

"Wait, could you back up? Explain from the beginning, please," Artemis said, leaning forward.

"When Cailan was eight or so her parents were killed." Mr. Jeffries growled.

The young heroes shared a look between each other.

"May I ask…how?" Kaldur nearly whispered.

"My brother, Seth and his young wife, Siobhan Leal, died in a car crash when Cailan was eight. She…she was in the crash with them."

"I do suppose that's why she's so…troubled." Mrs. Jeffries continued on for her husband. "The child-psychiatrist said it was post-traumatic stress."

"What was post-traumatic stress?" Dick asked, his attention at its highest point.

"Why, Cailan's troubles. For the three or so years she was with us…she was—"

"She was nothing but a heap of goddamned trouble. She wouldn't behave in school, she wouldn't obey at home—you couldn't try and punish the child, ground her and the little imp would do it again or, something worse. I finally took to locking her in so she wouldn't get up to trouble at night. Know what the little brat did? I'll be damned if she didn't find out how to get out of just about every sort of lock I used to keep her in. So, I began locking her out. She wanted to sneak out at night, fine! But she'd stay out all night if that's how it was going to be. And guess what she did. Damn kid figured out how to get _back in!_" Mr. Jeffries began pacing as he held his daughter, his face growing red.

"She'd fight with the other foster kids we had through the house. You see, her parents didn't have a will. The government took their money, sold off their house…Cailan was going to be placed in the system. So…her name was placed in the system but…well, we fixed things so that she was living with us. At first we were going to adopt her right away but…but she was such a problem child." The woman said, beginning to wring her hands. "she started fighting with the other kids, getting into the pantries at all hours. We thought…thought maybe giving her charge of her cousin Natalia would help."

"It most certainly didn't! It didn't change anything, except that she acted out more than ever. It got so bad we had to start punishing her!"

"…If Cailan was eight or nine…her cousin would only have been, what, two or three? Studies and schooling for a toddler? Is it not a little much to expect a child to take charge of her?" Kaldur asked, his brow furrowed.

"The child needed to grow up." Mr. Jeffries said, thinking back to when he'd send the little girl to bed without dinner for her outbursts and un-ladylike mouth.

"It is a great responsibility placed upon a child, especially in light of her parent's deaths."

"We did the best we could." Mrs. Jeffries affirmed, her voice suddenly taking on a harsher role. "We took care of her, gave her a home and a chance outside of the system. She was such an ungrateful little mongrel that one night about six years ago she takes our money and our daughter and runs off. She took our baby, just like that!"

"Look I don't know why we're even talking to you. Do you know where she is or not?" Mr. Jeffries demanded, setting his child back in his wife's lap and taking an ominous step towards the three kids.

"No, I am afraid not. The Cailan we know, both her parents are alive. We are sorry to have bothered you this afternoon. We'll be going now." Kaldur said, nodding his head politely and making his way to the door before Artemis or Dick could argue, or open their mouths.

….

"What was that about?" Dick asked, closing in on Kaldur's elbow.

"Yeah, wanna clue us in?" Artemis asked, speaking from the side of her mouth as she put her hands in her jacket pocket.

"We do not know our Cailan is their Cailan," he said stiffly, giving a side glance to the house where he sensed they were being watched by Mr. and Mrs. Jeffries.

"…you're joking right? It's her picture in the papers Kaldur, not to mention the dead woman had her last name!" Artemis said, stopping short.

The leader sighed. "…"

"Dude, I haven't been able to find anything out about Cailan either. It'd make sense if she ran away and made up her school info." Dick said, pausing and glancing between Artemis who was still standing there and Kaldur who was beginning to walk away.

"What purpose would she have for kidnapping her cousin, only to return her six years later?" Kaldur said, not stopping to address them but more a musing to himself.

"She's a messed up kid! Seeing her parents screwed with her brain." Artemis supplied, scoffing and hurrying to catch up with the other two.

"No, think back Artemis. Did she behave like that during her time at Gothem Academy? Dick? Unless I am mistaken, until this year, she had never even gotten a scolding."

"That much is true; her school records are clean until, actually, about the time she started seeing Jake…" Dick said, his head tilting back to look at the sky in remembrance.

"That doesn't get her off the hook; it's the same girl Kaldur!" Artemis protested.

"…perhaps you are right. However, I do not believe we were getting the whole story from Mr. and Mrs. Jeffries."

"Well, the only way to get it would be to talk with Cailan herself." Artemis said, sending a look to Kaldur.

"Yes, it seems so."

…

_3:13pm_

"Okay, well?" Wally demanded, rushing outside the sea-side layer.

"We did not learn much." Kaldur admitted. "Wally do you know where Cailan liked to hang out? Or, perhaps where she was staying?"

"…other than where we'd meet to go over her science work…no."


	12. The Receding Rapids

_**A/N: Please, don't forget to review, it does mean a lot. Hope that this chapter clears up a few things. Also, in light of the info in the newest episode of Young Justice aired two weeks ago, I will try and adjust my story where possible. **_

_Monday the 31__st__ of October, 2:28pm_

"Pardon me?" Kaldur said, his head jerking up to meet Mrs. Jeffries eyes.

"Cailan…she's our niece. We weren't named as the guardians in her parents will—"

"Wait, could you back up? Explain from the beginning, please," Artemis said, leaning forward.

"When Cailan was eight or so her parents were killed." Mr. Jeffries growled.

The young heroes shared a look between each other.

"May I ask…how?" Kaldur nearly whispered.

"My brother, Seth and his young wife, Siobhan Leal, died in a car crash when Cailan was eight. She…she was in the crash with them."

"I do suppose that's why she's so…troubled." Mrs. Jeffries continued on for her husband. "The child-psychiatrist said it was post-traumatic stress."

"What was post-traumatic stress?" Dick asked, his attention at its highest point.

"Why, Cailan's troubles. For the three or so years she was with us…she was—"

"She was nothing but a heap of goddamned trouble. She wouldn't behave in school, she wouldn't obey at home—you couldn't try and punish the child, ground her and the little imp would do it again or, something worse. I finally took to locking her in so she wouldn't get up to trouble at night. Know what the little brat did? I'll be damned if she didn't find out how to get out of just about every sort of lock I used to keep her in. So, I began locking her out. She wanted to sneak out at night, fine! But she'd stay out all night if that's how it was going to be. And guess what she did. Damn kid figured out how to get _back in!_" Mr. Jeffries began pacing as he held his daughter, his face growing red.

"She'd fight with the other foster kids we had through the house. You see, her parents didn't have a will. The government took their money, sold off their house…Cailan was going to be placed in the system. So…her name was placed in the system but…well, we fixed things so that she was living with us. At first we were going to adopt her right away but…but she was such a problem child." The woman said, beginning to wring her hands. "she started fighting with the other kids, getting into the pantries at all hours. We thought…thought maybe giving her charge of her cousin Natalia would help."

"It most certainly didn't! It didn't change anything, except that she acted out more than ever. It got so bad we had to start punishing her!"

"…If Cailan was eight or nine…her cousin would only have been, what, two or three? Studies and schooling for a toddler? Is it not a little much to expect a child to take charge of her?" Kaldur asked, his brow furrowed.

"The child needed to grow up." Mr. Jeffries said, thinking back to when he'd send the little girl to bed without dinner for her outbursts and un-ladylike mouth.

"It is a great responsibility placed upon a child, especially in light of her parent's deaths."

"We did the best we could." Mrs. Jeffries affirmed, her voice suddenly taking on a harsher role. "We took care of her, gave her a home and a chance outside of the system. She was such an ungrateful little mongrel that one night about six years ago she takes our money and our daughter and runs off. She took our baby, just like that!"

"Look I don't know why we're even talking to you. Do you know where she is or not?" Mr. Jeffries demanded, setting his child back in his wife's lap and taking an ominous step towards the three kids.

"No, I am afraid not. The Cailan we know, both her parents are alive. We are sorry to have bothered you this afternoon. We'll be going now." Kaldur said, nodding his head politely and making his way to the door before Artemis or Dick could argue, or open their mouths.

….

"What was that about?" Dick asked, closing in on Kaldur's elbow.

"Yeah, wanna clue us in?" Artemis asked, speaking from the side of her mouth as she put her hands in her jacket pocket.

"We do not know our Cailan is their Cailan," he said stiffly, giving a side glance to the house where he sensed they were being watched by Mr. and Mrs. Jeffries.

"…you're joking right? It's her picture in the papers Kaldur, not to mention the dead woman had her last name!" Artemis said, stopping short.

The leader sighed. "…"

"Dude, I haven't been able to find anything out about Cailan either. It'd make sense if she ran away and made up her school info." Dick said, pausing and glancing between Artemis who was still standing there and Kaldur who was beginning to walk away.

"What purpose would she have for kidnapping her cousin, only to return her six years later?" Kaldur said, not stopping to address them but more a musing to himself.

"She's a messed up kid! Seeing her parents screwed with her brain." Artemis supplied, scoffing and hurrying to catch up with the other two.

"No, think back Artemis. Did she behave like that during her time at Gothem Academy? Dick? Unless I am mistaken, until this year, she had never even gotten a scolding."

"That much is true; her school records are clean until, actually, about the time she started seeing Jake…" Dick said, his head tilting back to look at the sky in remembrance.

"That doesn't get her off the hook; it's the same girl Kaldur!" Artemis protested.

"…perhaps you are right. However, I do not believe we were getting the whole story from Mr. and Mrs. Jeffries."

"Well, the only way to get it would be to talk with Cailan herself." Artemis said, sending a look to Kaldur.

"Yes, it seems so."

…

_3:13pm_

"Okay, well?" Wally demanded, rushing outside the sea-side layer.

"We did not learn much." Kaldur admitted. "Wally do you know where Cailan liked to hang out? Or, perhaps where she was staying?"

"…other than where we'd meet to go over her science work…no."

"Does anyone else feel like she's getting in the way of what we're actually supposed to be doing?" Artemis asked, folding her arms across her chest in her traditional stance of defense.

"Artemis—"

"No, I agree with her." Superboy spoke up, taking a step away from M'gann.

The other teens turned, surprised; they looked to his clear blue eyes as he stared solemnly back at them with his stoic face.

"Before we got involved with her KF and Artemis were just messing around and arguing. Wally goes ga-ga for her and Artemis and him are at each other's throats. Robin's spending half his time trying to hack into something to get information on her and, Kalder…"

Everyone stiffened at their leader's name. The eggshells were laying crushed underfoot and Conner took a deep breath before plunging into the heart of what he was going to say. "…your head hasn't been in the game. The Bat told you once that if you couldn't get it together you were gone. We need you…but… he's scared of losing Robin…any of us. He's _scared. _The bat. Scared. We need you fully there Kaldur."

They shifted uneasily, waiting for Kaldur's retort. Kaldur's grey eyes looked at Conner, blank. No one could read the contours of his face; M'gann didn't chance—or think to—read his mind to figure out how bad the situation was. He stood there, chewing his words over, thinking carefully. His mind had been caught over Cailan ever since he'd seen her with Jake in the hall; it was a fire festering inside of him that he hadn't felt since Tula had announced she'd left him for Garth. His head hadn't been fully there. He admitted to himself; it glared at him in neon signs: drugs were up, petty crimes were running rampant, but the overall rate had gone down. Something was wrong, and he was chasing a girl in a paper.

"You are right," he sighed to Conner.

Conner grimaced and then did a double take at his leader. "Uh…what?"

"I have had much on my mind and, as a result have not been thinking clearly." He ran his hands over his face and began to walk to the big-screen computer.

The other's shared a glance and followed him into the heart of their mountain home.

"I have been trying to figure out what is going on in Gothem, in Metropolis. Crime rates as a total have gone down and it does not make any sense! Yet…I cannot think straight. When I do, I—" he broke off and leaned heavily against a table, his palms hot against the cool glass. "she comes into my head. You see, she wears…she wears an Atlantian bracelet. A bracelet that I-I know to have belonged to an Atlantian years ago."

"…so…she found it or something?" Kidflash shrugged, darting around in front of Kaldur, twirling his finger around his hear for 'crazy' as he looked to Artemis. She smirked and rolled her eyes.

"No; jewelry like that does not just 'appear' on the surface world. It is very, very valuable. My people have done everything in their power in the past to get back something so treasured when it has made its way to your surface world. For some reason…I feel it is important."

"I don't see what this has to do with what's been going on?" Artemis said, putting her hand on Kaldur's shoulder.

"Neither do I. Nonetheless, I cannot keep it from my mind."

"Alright, let's wipe the slate and start completely from scratch. Forget the bracelet, forget Cailan. Let's focus on what's been going on in our cities for the past few weeks" Robin said, typing like crazy into his arm-worn keyboard and staring at the screen.

"Here's what we know: crimes like murder, large theft and major drug trades have slowly faded, _especially _in relation to know baddies, such as Ra's Al Ghul, Sportsmaster, etc. We haven't seen anything in regards to the League of Shadows, and since Lex Luthor 'saved' north and south Rhelasia. Cheshire has vanished.

"Even big time drug dealers who have nothing to do with these guys seem to have vanished. There're less thugs running around than before… Gang violence is down. But—"

"The number of teens and adolescents who are admitted to the hospital for drug-related incidents has gone up as the crime has gone down." Artemis broke in, hands on hips, eyes on the screen. "Kids are continuing to use drugs, no, using them more than ever now. So, what are we missing?"

"It's…like the cities are waiting," M'gann spoke up. "Can't you feel it? Like…everything's holding it's breath for something."

…

_Saturday the 12__th__ of November, 3:42am_

He pushed against her body; Cailan felt him between her legs and closed her eyes. His hands were roving her chest, his lips sloppily getting slobber all over her mouth and neck. He was fumbling with her clothes, with her own body.

She looked up at Jake, his pupils dilated so big he was all pupil and no eye. She looked up into his eyes as he finally undid the button on her jeans and she hated them. She didn't know why she had wanted to see grey when she looked up. Slate grey; like fog over the ocean that was the color she wanted to see in his eyes.

"Stop," she said. She didn't want to go all the way…not with Jake, not in some trashy apartment on a stained couch. "Jake, stop!" she said louder, pushing at him.

He just began laughing insanely and grabbed her wrists. She didn't know how he could be so skinny, so undernourished, and still be strong enough to keep her down. True, she hadn't had a proper meal in weeks but she was a strong, fit girl. She had been.

As she struggled against the now wiry frame of her once-almost-boyfriend, she was aware of how straw-like her hair was, coated in dirt and oil. She knew her face had dirt and grime smudges. Her clothes were dirty and torn, donning several holes now. His hands were bony against her own thinner wrists; his breath smelled, much like it had when he'd grabbed her and dragged her off weeks ago. His teeth were yellowed and cracking; cavities were huge and obvious in his teeth.

_Of course his teeth are decaying; he practically lives on that candy._ She thought. Cailan wasn't sure why she was thinking of his teeth while struggling to keep her virginity, but that was what was on her mind.

…

_4:07am_

"Are you sure?"

"No, I am not sure of anything," Kaldur confessed into his communications ear piece. "But, it is all we have."

"Alright." Red Arrow said from the other side.

They'd finally made a break in the case. There was a new drug out on the market. Its source was unknown but it was highly addictive and highly debilitating. It's surfaced on the streets of Gothem but had spread quickly to Metropolis and surrounding cities and towns. It was wrapped up like brightly colored candies; it was near impossible to tell it for what it was. The wrappers had familiar words on it, cleverly masking it over to look similar and familiar to other candies.

"Previously called 'Product X'. My information says it's currently known as 'Cloud 9' or 'C9X' on the street." Red Arrow said, holding up a guy by the scruff of his shirt, finger to his ear to speak to Kaldur.

"Thank you, my friend. We may have found a source here in Gothem."

"Produc X, Cloud 9, C9X?" Robin said, working at the computer on his wrist while M'gann flew her craft over the Narrows. "If that's any hint at what's in this stuff…well, let's just say it's bad."

"What's so bad about it? I mean, it looks and smells like candy…" Kidflash questioned, holding up a piece of the 'candy' and examining it.

"Well, reports are that you're addicted after one go at it. After that…you're kind of crazed. The ingredients listed…there are components of laughing gas in there. That stuff's bad news man. Not to mention the other chemicals it's loaded with." Robin continued, not glancing up.

Superboy reached over and crushed the candy to dust from Kidflash's hands. "Just to be careful," he smirked.

"Hmph." Kidflash said, crossing his arms.

"Team, we need to be focused. M'gann, land us on one of the abandoned buildings in the Narrows. We'll split up and look for something on foot."

"What exactly are we looking for Kaldur?" Artemis asked, securing her arrows to her.

"Dealers, addicts. Any person who may hold information."

"Hey, guys," Robin interrupted. "Whatever you do, don't try that stuff."

They paused and looked at him while M'gann landed her ship.

"Well, it's addictive…but, the mixture of chemicals…its highly unstable and…so far, it's looking like too much of it is irreversibly fatal."

…

_4:09am _

Cailan crashed into the fire-escape railing, impaling her stomach on the horizontal bar. Her scraggily hair flew over her shoulder as she whipped around to glance behind her. Jake was right on her tail. He was screaming some nonsense she didn't understand about getting caught and 'them wanting their due back' and other ravings. She couldn't focus. Her adrenalin was all that was keeping her going at this point. She was hungry and tired after weeks of this miserable living in hiding.

Knowing she only had a short time before the natural chemical wore off and that she was contending with the artificial chemicals pumping strength into Jake she threw herself over the side of the railing and grabbed hold of the ladder. It began crashing to the ground with a horrible squealing sound that Cailan was sure would bring the world down on her. She screamed as she headed towards the ground, unable to hold back.

The ladder jerked and her grip was over powered. She tumbled a few feet to the ground, landing in a sprawled heap underneath the iron works along the side of the condemned building. She looked up through dizzied eyes and saw Jake was already spider-ing down towards her.

It was the familiar dream-scenario: she regained her balance, only to trip and fall, and struggle to get back to her feet where she only seemed to fall again. Her heart was thrown into pumping in overdrive; every vane in her body was pulsating with a growing amount of adrenalin. In no time at all it seemed Jake had fallen to her.

His face was twisted in a way that scared her enough to be sick. His hands were claws around her arms as he pulled her from the ground. She was dimly aware of his hand colliding with the side of her face. Her brain was frozen in fear from Jakes _face._

_He's totally insane._ She thought as she was thrown to the ground.

His lips were chapped and grey and spread into a wicked, crazy smile, revealing rotting teeth as he bore down on her. His eyes were wide; he looked like a cartoon. His eyes were white with a large circle of black in the center and nothing more. His skin was yellowed, his hair greasy and limp. He was so pale and his face was contorted with rage and he was shaking, but she heard laughter coming out of his mouth.

"Jake!" she finally managed to scream, landing a defensive kick into his stomach that pushed him up off of her.

She stumbled to her feet and started off for a small alleyway when someone emerged from the shadows and grabbed her by her knotted hair. Cailan could hear various sounds of struggling, heard a girl's laughter and Jake screaming and what sounded like a dog. Foul breath tickled her ear and disgusting, long fingernails grazed down her cheek.

"What is a fine piece of ass like you running for sweetheart? Heh, don't you know Baal could spread you like a flower?"

She shuddered and was lost in her shock when she flew into the wall of the alley she'd been running for. Looking back she saw Baal was flat on his back.

…

"Down there!" Robin yelled and, without a word from the other's, he leapt off the building.

Kidflash was quick to join him; he'd heard the scream too and saw two figures struggling.

"Don't you know it's wrong to pick on girls?" he taunted his fallen foe; it was a strong, muscular looking guy who was pale and wearing paler makeup on his face. He had long scraggily hair and a crazy outfit that Kidflash almost mistook for a trani's outfit.

"Robin!" Kaldur called; Robin ducked down and Aqualad's whip lashed around a meta-human hyena's face and brought it to the oil-slick concrete.

Artemis was letting her arrows fly, locking Baal and the hyena down with nets. A girl in a pin-up –like jester's outfit, all in tatters, launched herself at the blond and landed a good kick to the face. Artemis straightened and began hand to hand combat, landing a kick of her own. The jester-girl got a pissed look on her face and retorted with a missed round-house kick and a punch that landed squarely in Artemis' gut. Taking the opportunity, Patch brought her elbow down into the young heroin's back and sent her tumbling off the roof of one of the buildings.

Superboy saw this and leapt to action, catching the blond and using his hands to claw into the side of the brick building, slowing their decent to a comfortable slide. Baal had by then freed himself and was attempting combat with M'gann who was proving difficult for him to contend with. He finally grabbed a pipe and landed a solid blow to her head, sending her crashing through a building.

"M'gann!" Kaldur yelled.

In his distraction Jack sent a fire-ball his way. Kaldur's backpack erupted into flames. The leader roared in pain and tore the smoking mass of flames from his shoulders. There were burns through his wetsuit where the pack had been. Jack's grin grew in his pumpkin face and his eyes sparkled with the mischievously wicked flames of hell. Kaldur soon felt his breath leaving him as Jack used the surrounding air to feed the fire he was creating; affected by the heat Kaldur fell to his knee, coughing in the smoke.

Red Arrow set fly a missile that erupted into fire-quelling, gelatinous mush. He swung down and shot another arrow towards Patch who was in a very seductive confrontation with Kidflash. This drew the girl's attention to himself and Kidflash took full advantage, using his sped to tie her up in her own costume and disorient her.

Robin was in a battle with Hyena, the latter's claws raking across the youngest hero unforgivingly as Robin dealt out precise martial-artist blows. Robin kicked the beast in the head and flipped it over his shoulder, catching its stomach with his heel while it lay on the ground. He looked down at the meta-human, caught off guard by its suddenly absent defense.

Cailan watched the young heroes fighting as she pulled herself up against the wall. Her head was throbbing and her vision was doubled. But there they were, the Sidekick-Heroes she'd heard so much about, right in front of her eyes.

_There they are Cailan: heroes…come to rescue you. _She shook her head disbelievingly and regretted doing so as pain shot down her spine and through her limbs and she crumpled back to the ground. Curling into herself she resolved to wait and watch; she'd get in the way of these professional fighters. What else could she do?

Jack was coming at Red Arrow with a vengeance, but Cailan wasn't watching that. She was looking at Aqualad; he was on his hands and knees, breathing hard and in pain. Her heart ached watching him suffer his burns. She cringed with every blow one of the heroes was dealt; she didn't understand how they could take it.

Artemis was back on her feet and she and Red Arrow stood back to back, arrows pointed and launched out at their foes. Robin was saved by the elder boy's attack when he miscalculated Hyena's abilities and found himself on the wrong end of very sharp claws. Kidflash found himself trying to round in the flames Jack was once again drawing straight from hell and was saved from being charred in a particularly violent exposition when Artemis launched and arrow and rope and swung to him. They went up and over onto a fire escape across the lot, watching the battle unfold below.

"Why do you look so familiar?" Robin laughed as Patch attacked him from behind, leaving Red Arrow to contend with Hyena.

"Familiar? Hah! I'm an original thinker kid!" She growled, eyes narrowed as she launched herself at him.

"Nah, seen the outfit somewhere…" he grinned, dodging her and nailing a hit to her jaw.

"…wait…HEY!" he called, finally realizing why she looked familiar.

Baal had, by that time been on his feet and trying to catch Jake and battle Kaldur. M'gann was at Kaldur's back, trying to ward off flames from Jack's uncontrollable fire. Superboy was the one the pumpkin head was fighting now and Artemis and Kidflash were helping Red Arrow fend off the frenzied half-animal.

"Time for drastic measures," Baal growled out. He finally managed to grab Jake and with a solid hit to the back of his neck knocked him unconscious. Baal then tossed him over his shoulder and extended his hand towards the three in front of him.

Before they had time to react gas was issuing forth from up his sleeve.

"Don't breath it in!" Robin yelled, frantic, forgetting all about Patch.

She grinned horrifically down at him and swung a jagged pipe towards his head from behind, intending to land a killing blow to The Bat's sidekick. Kidflash, presently at Artemis' side, saw the move and launched himself with his speed to Robin's aid. Kidflash shoved Robin, hard, out of the way, his own body now in the way of the attack. Artemis, catching on fast, just managed to let an arrow fly. The action saved Kidflash's life; the arrow struck the pipe and altered it from a killing strike to merely a debilitating one: Wally fell unconscious.

Artemis threw herself at Patch and engaged her violently, hardly thinking about strategy or skill at this point. Patch continued to taunt the girl with slurs against Kidflash and herself nearly sending the green-clad teen into a rage.

Robin was picking himself up off the ground, watching as Kaldur, Superboy and M'gann fell in a heap of coughing and smoke-induced blindness. M'gann and Superboy began laughing uncontrollably. They were soon lying on the ground in hysterics, tears streaming down their face, unable to breathe or gain control of themselves. Kaldur coughed out a few laughs and struggled with his chuckles for a moment, but he found his jelly-fish venom made him more resistant to the gas than normal people.

The boy-wonder was then confronted with Jack, who had bloodlust in his vacant and hellish eyes. Baal caught Red Arrow with a blow to the back as he battled Hyena. Baal then dumped Jake into Hyena's arms and sent the order for retreat. The beast did so, fangs drooling with a fight-mongering.

Baal returned to the fray, watching Jack and Patch's progress with the heroes. The criminal leader sent a look to Cailan as she sat against the wall, and one back to the fight. The smile that drew across his face sickened the girl's stomach and she pressed closer into the wall. It did little good; Baal was on her in an instant and with all of her kicking and screaming he pulled her off the ground to her weak feet. He struck her again and, hand around her wrist, looped his arm around her body, half dragging and half carrying her towards his exit.

Aqualad was the one to come to her aid, still coughing away the smoke that left two of his teammates debilitated and choking on the pavement. He shocked the assailant with his electrical talents, causing him to drop Cailan.

Cailan closed her eyes and tried to get her bearings back. Her head felt like someone had scrambled eggs—shells and all—into a dirty jar.

Patch caught a kick from Artemis and threw her into Robin, entangling the two in each other and taking the opportunity for herself to run. Jack took the moment of the two's incapacitated state to head for Kidflash. The Jack-O-Lantern boy, the controller of flames, had murder in his eyes as he walked towards the still-unconscious form of Kidflash lying on the street. Kaldur didn't see the danger for his friend as he continued to spar a losing fight with Baal; M'gann and Superboy were choking and gasping for air as the laughing gas was reaching its epoch of effectiveness before it would start to die down, and as a result they lay useless on the ground. Artemis and Robin were trying to separate themselves and get their heads together; Red Arrow was trying to stumble to his feet, his mind still cluttered as he slowly regained consciousness.

Jack turned to Kidflash, fire growing in his hand and the twisted grin slowly slid into a frown as he glared down to the boy. There was death in his stare and murder was his intent. Kidflash—Wally, funny and bright—was not going to make it out of this fight. Jack wanted someone to burn, and who better than the only real threat to him? He would watch Kidflash char into ashes and bone. He leaned down and tore away the mask from Wally's face, and raised his hand to strike out the flames against the unrecognized boy, going in for the kill and—

"Hey!"

—he paused and looked, just in time to see a busted pipe come swinging into his face. Jack fell, his pumpkin head splattered and pumpkin gunk leaking out through the breaks in the husk, the candle sent tumbling out and flickering in the night.

Kaldur managed a solid punch into Baal but with another trick from up his sleeve—literally—Baal set off a flash bomb and escaped with moments while Aqualad was stunned.

…

_4:36am_

Cailan sank to her knees, leaning on the broken pipe she'd hit the Jack with. It was her only support and it shook with her weight until she slumped and let it fall with a heavy metallic clang. She was on her knees right by Kidflash. Her head was spinning. His red hair was dancing in her sight, his freckles wouldn't stop doubling and un-doubling as she looked at him. And as the other heroes started to regain themselves, Red Arrow and Robin rushing over to assist Superboy and Miss Martian in their attempt to breathe, Cailan's vision began to clear a little.

And when it had, she did a double take to the boy lying down in front of her. Her hand trembled as she picked up the mask and looked from it, from the marker of Kidflash, to the boy on the ground. She was looking at Kidflash, her once-friend, Wally West.

"…omigawd…" she gasped, her hand going to her stomach as she stared down at him.

Trembling all over, the events of the night finally taking their toll on her, she looked over her shoulder to where the other heroes had began gathering. M'gann's mind had, due to her being so incapacitated by the laughing gas, lost its ability to keep Superboy and Kaldur's appearances continually shifting. Cailan could see them as they were.

And looking at the two faces she'd become used to seeing at school, along with Wally's unmasked face below her, she knew who the blond girl and the boy wonder were. Artemis Crock and Dick Greyson stood, as good as unmasked to Cailan.

Slightly panicked, Cailan made a sudden movement and pushed herself up using the pipe she still held. Her action scared the heroes into tense postures, not sure how to react now that they were sure, at least, that she knew Wally was Kidflash. She dropped the pipe almost instantly and began backing away, her eyes big and doe-like, blinking as if she were stunned.

"_Cailan, please, calm down. We're your friends, you're safe now," _M'gann said telepathically.

It was the last straw for the night. Cailan's eyes rolled to the back of her head and her legs crumpled beneath her. Her head would have crashed into the ground if Roy hadn't caught her. Kaldur looked on, unsure what was going through him, while Roy supported the limp girl's form and slid his arm under her knees. He made carrying her look easy.

"…he's gonna kill us," Robin said, paling.


	13. The Receding Rapidspart2

_**A/N: please, remember to leave a review. (and yes, I KNOW that Jason came AFTER Dick; we're switching a few things around, however.) **_

_Sunday the 13__th__ of November 4:39pm_

"I'm telling you, they work for _him_." Dick said, his hands thrown around in his talking.

"It's just some thugs that Jake must've owed something to." Roy shook his head.

"…you're wrong man,"

…

_4:42pm_

"What are we going to do?" Wally asked, looking nervously from Calian's unconscious form on the couch to the other's who stood with him in the kitchen.

"Well, M'gann's uncle has the ability to reconstruct her memory." Artemis said in reply. "We're not totally out of options Wally. Besides, it wasn't your fault, we couldn't have known."

They were all petrified and anxious. Batman had been away on an important mission with Superman and the Green Lantern. Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman were tasked with world-rounds—they occurred once a month to check up with the other heroes of the world. That left a chain of command that was not instructed how to deal with the young force which left the teen-heroes waiting with baited breath for Batman and Superman to return.

"Well, what's the diagnosis Roy?" Dick questioned, unable to sit still for worry.

Red Arrow shot the Boy Wonder a look. "Aside from malnutrition? Whatever happened to her these past few weeks sure did a number on her. Her injuries don't look too bad though. And I'm not sure but she's been on something, a low dose or a soft drug maybe."

Calian was beginning to come to and she heard voices; it was a fretted sort of wake up and sounds and consciousness filtered in to her mind obscurely.

Roy Harper sat down at the edge of the couch and looked her over again. It was obvious that she'd looked better; he could see a softness of her face with high but delicate cheekbones. Even under the bruises and grime there was an apparent beauty.

When full consciousness over came Calian it hit her hard. She was aware of what had happened (to her, only a few moments ago) the morning before and bolted up. Roy, startled, called out and went to steady her. Calian was still confused from sleep and frightened, she struggled.

"Hey!" Roy growled, grabbing her arms and giving her a rough shake. "Calm. Down."

She froze, breathing hard. Blinking she recognized the hero's outfit and stilled. Her eyes drifted around and she saw the other heroes coming in, concerned by the commotion they'd heard.

"Cali!" Wally called, rushing over and kneeling by her side. He no longer wore his mask; she knew who he was. "Are you okay, can I get you something?"

Calian looked from him back to Roy. The older boy slowly let go of her arms and gave a nervous cough, standing and moving away from her. All she managed was a shake of her head. Kaldur came in from the screen room where he'd been talking with Black Canary and Super Boy and M'gann wandered in from a stroll out around the mountain. The longer Calian was awake the more secure she felt and the more defiance crept into her manner.

"You know, it's pretty obvious now that…" her voice caught and she clenched her jaw shut. Her first reaction had been to move a hand to her ribs, but she refrained, twitching a little.

"What is obvious?" Kaldur asked softly, trying to get her to continue.

Arching a brow and giving a coy smirk, she continued slowly. "The six of you. I never paid attention to the news, but you lot have a lot of candid photos out there. Besides, you all stuck so close together at school even though three of you were supposedly 'new' to the area. Guess everyone's a genius in hindsight though, huh?"

The shared a look, and Wally gave a nervous laugh.

"Wally." Kaldur said, his countenance slumping in dead efforts and directed his question to Calian. "You recognize all of us then?"

Her façade vanished. "So…what's gonna happen…"

"That isn't up to them kid." Roy interrupted. "The _League_ decides what happens to you now."

"What happened?" Dick said, coming a little closer.

"…" her jaw jumped again and she sat back into the couch. Her eyes narrowed and her 'school-queen' air came back. "You sure do look different in that mask, hon,"

Dick couldn't help the color that came to his cheeks and he coughed, ran a hand through his hair and turned helplessly to his teammates.

"Guess I know why you hate me Artemis," Cali said with a wry smile as she reviled she knew the blond's feelings, turning her seemingly calloused eyes to the masked girl. "Didn't want anything happening to your team, huh?"

"This is Megan; Calian if she has to…she can read minds." Kaldur said, his voice slightly colder than before. "We need to know—"

"You wanna know what I was doing with a crazed out druggie and why we were attacked by those freaks."

…

_4:56pm_

"Way I see it I'm already screwed. What's the point in digging the grave deeper." She said, her voice hallow. "I'm surprised I'm not in a cell or something" she added in dry sarcasm, looking around.

"Look here princess," Artemis growled, hands on hips and leaning over Calian. "you're the only lead we have to a massive influx of drugs, the use of which has lead to countless kids in the hospital. Not to mention the kidnapping of that little girl, Natalia Jeffries. If you don't cooperate—"

Calian turned vacant eyes to the girl and gave a small laugh. "Babe, there isn't anything you can do that would scare me."

A chill ran down Wally's spine when he heard Calian talk like that. Her personality was so different than it'd been just a few months ago.

Artemis ground her teeth in frustration. "I'd bet I could think of some things."

"You really do hate me" Calian was musing now.

"You are very quick to turn attention from yourself." Kaldur said, a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You did this in school as well,"

"Pretty smart Kal,"

"…my name is Kaldur'Ahm…Aqu—"

"Aqualad." She turned her bright, spring eyes up to him. "fine. What do you wanna know?"

…

"You can start with kidnapping." Roy shrugged, leaning against the wall in a very handsome manner, arms crossed over his chest.

"I didn't kidnap my cousin." Cali said flatly, her sparkling eyes flicking from Kaldur to Roy. "I ran away from those miserable people…Natalia…just kind of happened."

"Miserable people? They took you in after—" Megan began coming forward in her human outfit.

"After my parents died? Did they tell you the enormous pile of cash that came with me?" there was a heavy silence that floated around after her words. "I didn't think so. Yeah, they were great people who took in an orphan to raise as their own. And sure, maybe life wasn't so bad with them."

She said it as if trying to convince herself.

"They didn't mention money," Wally said, moving forward and sitting on the couch next to her. "Is that all they wanted?"

"Wally…" she laughed a scornful laugh and looked to him. "You're too nice, you know that? Yeah. It's pretty much what they wanted. They had all the family they needed; an older son they couldn't keep a handle on and a beautiful little girl who deserved everything. To top it off, they skated the line and fostered countless kids to get the government money that came with them. On top of the government money that came with 'being my guardian', they got a wonderful sum off my parents' death.

"They were rich and, even though they didn't have a will, they had a trust fund set up for me in case something happened. Only my guardian's could tap into it, and then what was left would be mine when I was eighteen."

"So what, you knew all this at eight years old?" Roy snorted; Artemis liked him more and more.

"Don't be stupid," Calian rolled her eyes away from Wally. "I was just a kid…I wanted a family who cared about me. Yeah, they gave me a roof and a bed, clothes and food and put me in a decent school but that man and woman weren't a family in any sense of the word. And I don't give a damn if you think I'm a spoiled little brat _Red Arrow_; there may not have been obvious abuse, but there was neglect in that house.

"I couldn't stand it so I'd find friends and spend the night at their house. They had to switch my schools dozens of times 'cause I 'acted out' and 'had such a wild imagination'. That made them angry, which made life less like a family, so I'd act out more. By ten I could get into and out of any house, through any door or window I wanted to" she straightened painfully, as if proud of this. "I can't remember how old I was when I ran away. Natalia woke up and she wouldn't keep quite. Dumb kid…I couldn't get her to go back to sleep, and if I left her she'd cry and wake everyone up."

"So you took a two year old kid out into the streets with you?" Artemis demanded, outraged.

"No one accused me of being smart." Calian said simply.

"How'd you—"

"Survive on the streets? There's a whole community out there you guys don't know about. The Narrows is the most dangerous place in Gothem city…and ironically enough that's pretty much where the most life is too. I bet you don't know of a fraction of how many homeless people and gangs of street kids are out there, do you? It wasn't hard to find a group to fit in with. Then when I was fourteen…out there, you hit fourteen and you're not a child anymore.

"…things…happen to young girls. Catch my drift?" they all nodded but only Kaldur, Roy and Artemis had at least an idea of what she was getting at. "So I moved on to _safer_ places. There was a little old lady who had come into an apartment complex when her husband died. She couldn't afford too much maintenance to be done on the place, and it could have ruined her and she'd have had to sell. It was a great deal. She told the tenants we were her grandchildren and our mom was hospitalized; I took care of the odd little things around the place and she had almost enough money to get by on the repairs needed to keep the place going. She let us stay for free in our own room in the top of the building; I'd just clean her apartment and get her groceries. Natalia kept her company. "

"And she took care of your school information?" Dick questioned, curious as to how an old woman could have confounded his efforts in finding Calian.

"No. I made up an address and gave a p.o box from the narrows for the information. I think the address I gave was right smack dab in the middle of Gothem Bay, actually. It was pretty easy to make up parents and their information. A fake email, a number routed down to the main hall of the apartment complex. It was easy enough to find on the internet."

"How'd you learn to dance?" Megan blurted out naively.

A distant look came to Calian's face and a gentle smile was seen for a fraction of a second. "My mom taught me ballet since I could walk. When I was old enough they enrolled me in classes at a professional's studio in the city. When they died," her voice caught and she coughed and paused.

"there was money for me to continue, but the Jeffries' didn't use it on my lessons."

"That still doesn't explain how you became so good,"

"I learned a lot of things from kids on the street. And watching movies on tv. I didn't enroll in school till I was fourteen; that left plenty of time to learn a trick or two. But…ballet was harder. There's a woman with a studio…she saw me watching through the window every day…and she noticed when I started coming in the evenings after school. I couldn't afford lessons, but she gave me a job cleaning up the studio afterwards. I got to go and watch, so that was good enough for me."

Kaldur thought back to how graceful she'd been in the gymnasium. He couldn't imagine how she could be that good off of the lessons she'd had as a child. "But you are much better than you are giving yourself credit for."

She shrugged. "I'm just good at copying what I see. That's all."

"How did you get involved with Jake?" Wally asked, not meeting Calian's eyes.

She sighed. "Blackmail. He thought I was hot; I turned him down once, but he's got a reputation and didn't give up. He snuck my address from the school and, after going to the bay and realizing I'd lied about that, I guess he followed me home. Not too hard for him to put two and two together. Besides, I didn't want anyone else" she glanced to Wally "to get to close. Disguises are hard to wear and secrets hard to keep, especially if everyone knows, right?"

She directed her coy question back at the young league.

"As interesting as this is, we're not getting anywhere," Conner said sardonically, looking restlessly from Red Arrow to Aqualad.

"You're the ones who asked," Calian shrugged; she sounded tired and her eyes expressed a dryness that confused Wally.

Kaldur looked back to the girl. For all her fronts and all her coyness, there was something off about her. She seemed…defeated, somehow.

"Tell us what happened these past few weeks," Roy directed, his voice not as harsh as before.

"There's not much to tell. He went missing…things started falling apart at school. My grades sucked, I was going to get bumped from the teams. Then the school started getting on my case and taking a closer look at things. They couldn't get a hold of either of my parents…there were problems with the address…so it was time to quite. I left Natalia close to her home one night knowing that at least she'd be taken care of by those creeps and disappeared. I knew a place in the Narrows…and I ran into Jake.

"He's always been a small-time dealer…I guess he just kind of lost it. He's on something…and drinking like mad. But he had a place so I crashed there while he was strung out on some new drug and dealing and god knows what else."

"I have a hard time believing, from your appearance, that it is as simple as that Calian," Kaldur said gently.

"It's not. He was so strung out he didn't even trust his shadow. He kept talking about these people who were after him…he was a mess. I don't think there was a day the entire time we were together in the narrows that he was sober."

"That's not what Kaldur meant," Artemis said.

"Look, he got involved with the wrong people and I guess he owed them money. There was a new drug; the samples he gave he gave for free, but he still had to pay his supplier for the free bits he gave out and he was always owing money. But he started taking more himself than what he sold. I guess they chose him because he was charismatic, even when high he was persuasive."

"What drug was he selling?" Dick asked, his attention caught.

"I don't know. I never actually saw any drugs. He always had candy on him, though."

Kaldur wanted to press her for her injuries and appearance, but he didn't want to let this new development of the case slip from their fingers.

"This candy…do you know what it was?" He asked, tilting his head.

"…no, actually. I mean…it looked like the usual pure-sugar concoctions wrapped in brightly colored plastic with bubble-letters on the wrappers. There wasn't anything special about it. Except…"

"What?" Dick said, leaning forward eagerly, desperate to prove his theory to Roy.

"…it didn't taste like candy. Not like anything normal, anyways."

"You tried it?" Artemis glared at her.

Calian shrugged. "Yeah. Jake ate them like eating was going out of style; I was curious."

"…is there any chance you have one on you?" Kaldur asked, taking an eager step forward.

She shook her head. "It wasn't candy…was it? I didn't take any; if Jake had caught me— it was pretty gross. I didn't see a point."

There was a laden silence; they'd all caught her abrupt switch in the conversation and Kaldur felt heat rushing inside of him.

"You think that the candies are the new drugs?" she asked, looking from Red Arrow to Aqualad to Robin. "And that's why it's mostly been kids in the hospital?"

"If Jake was a dealer, and all you saw were the candies…" Kaldur began.

"Then there's little doubt that these candies are how the drugs are getting sold." Roy finished.

"…then you're in trouble." She looked up from the ground and they saw a weary and disbelieving smile on her face. "Those candies are marked with Wayne Enterprises' logo."

…

_5:06pm_

Kaldur had Megan begin making food; she and Conner went into the kitchen. The blue-eyed, black-haired, silent teen had stayed close to her. She understood him the best of his friends, and she had an easy-going, neutral way of living in the Mountain.

"Artemis," Kaldur said, walking up to her as she headed for her quarters.

Wally was keeping Calian occupied, harassing her about her injuries and if she were alright and if he could get her anything. Dick was mocking him and the two of them together made her laugh in a genuine but unnatural fashion.

"Megan alters her clothing with her mind, having none of her own. You are close to Calian's build…would it be possible—"

"To loan the queen-bee my clothes?" The blond arched a brow at him and answered with a smirk. "Sure, I'll just burn them afterword."

Keeping his laughter to himself he turned back to the den. "Calian?"

"…" she turned with raised brows to him in response; he saw she had paled a little, that her face of confidence was a mask she wore as she faced an unknown future.

"Would you like to bathe, Artemis will show you where the showers are."

"Geez, didn't know I was that bad," she quipped, almost uncharacteristically as she stood and followed the other girl from the room.

…

_6:00pm_

"She's been in there for, like, an hour!" Wally said, gesturing wildly towards the bathroom at the girls' end of the hallway.

"Stop trying to sneak a peak," Roy laughed as he playfully shoved Wally towards the kitchen.

Wally blushed furiously and darted behind Roy to push him out of the way. "That's not what I'm doing! What if she fell or something, or has a concussion? What about that?" he demanded.

"She's fine." Conner asserted, setting the food Megan held up telepathically onto the table.

"How do you—"

"I can hear her." He didn't mention _all_ that he heard coming from the bathroom.

"…oh…" Wally said, shoulders falling, relaxed. "Dibs on the potatoes!"

Kaldur sent a look towards the bathroom as well, and his gaze, as it returned, met with Roy's. The elder boy had a pitying look in his eyes as he shrugged and turned to the food his friends offered to him. A shiver ran up Kaldur's spine.

…

Calian looked down at herself. The parts of her that weren't black, blue or yellowed from bruising were bright pink from the heat of the water. It felt scalding, but it felt so good to be warm after the crappy room she'd frozen her butt off in, hardly sleeping because she was fighting off Jake. She felt much better after just a few moments under the water.

Sometime later when the grime and dirt had washed away, it wasn't surprising that she felt not 'much better,' but wonderful. Her hair sifted like silk through her fingers and her body was no longer oily but soft. Her aching muscles eased and relaxed. The steam cleared her senses and brought life-color back to her pallid face.

But she was tired. She'd spent weeks scrounging for her food, fighting for scraps and thieving. Sleep had been rare and guarded, and uncomfortable. But mostly she was fatigued from the mental strain. She felt aged; it was simply the shock wearing off. She couldn't help the tears that slid down her face.

She sank against the tiles of the shower and curled up in the hot water-spray. She'd never missed her parents or her childhood-life so much before. Calian couldn't remember when she'd felt more alone. Not when she and Natalia were squatting in boxes in alleyways, or when she was being provided for by other kids on the street; nor had she felt alone as she lied her way through school, not even telling her full story to Ms. Ginsberg when she'd begged for a home. She found herself more wearied and desolate than when she'd collapsed in the gymnasium. No amount of dancing would free her heart from the grave she'd placed it in.

She'd almost been raped by Jake, and then by that freak Baal; all just weeks short of an utter shift in her life, going from most popular girl with a place to live to a street-rat scrounging a living off garbage. It'd been her own fault but she didn't care about why it'd happened or different paths she could have taken. She just needed to cry.

There was a heaviness of soul that dragged her body down, a fatigue that made her close her eyes and the helpless knowledge that her life had been spinning out of control since the car crash nine years ago.

…

_6:03pm _

Cali walked towards the kitchen in Artemis' clothes. Leaning against the door frame she looked in at kids she'd hardly given a second thought to. There was Wally, the jokester who stuffed his face and continued talking, making everyone laugh with his silly antics. There was Dick, the genius but baby of the 'family', sitting next to Wally and ushering a few laughs from his friends with his own witty quips. Conner was the serious older brother who tried to ignore them, or got caught up in being the victim of one of their pranks that he couldn't help but react and end with his own deep rumbling laugher. Megan was the sweet natured cousin; she laughed at the two younger boys and her eyes lingered admiringly over Conner, eager to make him smile on her own and trying to understand the rules of this new house. Artemis was the serious older sister, the protective tiger who pretended not to be amused, but hid her smile in her glass of milk and her laughter under that of the boys'. There was the boy she didn't know, Red Arrow; he acted much like a father, or eldest brother. He seemed to admonish the behavior of the younger, and yet he laughed at them and encouraged them all the same. He offered advice and joked in a more grown up manner with them.

Then there was Kaldur. Red Arrow had to be bumped to eldest brother when Kaldur was taken into account. He looked over his friends with a keen eye, paying gentle yet precise attention to what they said and what meanings such utterances could hold beyond face value. His gaze seemed to bury deep into that of his peers and he seemed to know their weakness of moment, what they were looking for or needed. It was he who was gaining the knowledge of how best to uplift their spirits and comfort their injuries. He was their guiding hand when the trail became unknown or lost altogether. And as his eyes looked over his protectorates, she saw the beautifully jealous way he held them close, each a part of him: brothers, sisters; they were his dearest friends, but they'd solidified themselves as his family. And Calian saw the burning desire and passion in him for their protection.

"Cali!" Wally burst out, half way standing from the table.

The clamor and busy dinner-time antics slowly died away and quieted down as all eyes turned to her. She tried to remember the feeling and not let herself blush, well aware of the fit of a younger girl's clothes.

…

Artemis' eyes narrowed. Calian wore the simple sweats she'd decided she didn't care about, and yet there was still…the queen bee image on her.

Nearly two years older, Calian's body was almost filled out to full potential; despite that she was in sweats, the size was for a fifteen-year old. While athletic, Artemis still had not developed the body she would later. Calian's thighs took a womanly form in the borrowed sweats, supplely curving into strong and shapely calves. Her waist-line was well-defined by the draw-string though it was not drawn. The shirt she'd borrowed was only a t, but it fit tight around Calian's bust and lifted from her stomach.

It gave her a rather odd and mis-proportioned look; she had long legs and a long torso, but while the pants fit her length, the shirt didn't. However, she wore it with a feigned confidence that gave the impression she'd either planned things this way, didn't notice the ill-fit, or didn't care.

"Please, sit. What would you like?" Kaldur said, standing and offering her a seat.

She turned to look at him, as if dazed. Blinking she must have realized what he had said and slowly shook her head. "Is it okay…can I go back to sleep?"

…

_9:48pm_

"Are you sure?" Wally asked, craning his neck to catch a look at Cali as she slept on the couch.

"We will be fine," Kaldur assured. "What could she do Wally?"

"I don't think _she's_ the one he's worried about." Artemis interjected.

"They're heroes too you know," Red Arrow said, crossing his arms and staring her down.

"…yeah. G'night guys,"

"Catch ya on the flip side!" Wally called over his shoulder.

Dick lingered back with Kaldur and Red Arrow; with Bruce out, he had no technical curfew. He stretched, having changed from his tights and cape into a t and jeans. Megan sat on the couch opposite Calian, reading a magazine. Conner watched tv on the big screen in the other room.

"So…" the boy-wonder started, looking at Roy.

"You guys really messed up tonight." Roy said, shaking his head and looking back to the girl asleep on the couch.

"Hey!" Dick started.

"No. You don't seem to get it Dick. Batman lost Jason. Do you know what that did to him? What kind of a paranoia it instilled in the other league members? This girl _knows_ who you are. She knows your names, faces, and the persona you become when you put on that mask, Dick. If she were to go to someone, put that information out there, even let it slip by accident at school, do you know what could happen? You could die, your families could die, your friends; your school could be decimated. If that knowledge gets into the wrong hands, you're screwed.

"Not to mention the unnecessary danger you put _her _in. If someone does realize she knows, they'll go after her. And believe me, it isn't going to be a simple game of twenty questions. Even if she does tell them right away who you are, she'll be tortured by association. You messed up big tonight."

"…but…J'onn can erase her memory…Artemis said—"

"That may not matter, Dick," Kaldur said, sighing heavily. "If someone found out that she knew, even if she had her memory altered, it would not stop that person from trying to obtain that evidence. We do not fully understand the mind…it may be possible for someone to find out, even with her memory wiped."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Conner growled, marching in. "Keep her locked up here?"

The idea twisted him up inside; he knew what it was like to be a prisoner. "Or are we supposed to kill her?"

The other three stiffened, but remained silent. Sharing looks and a shiver; they'd never known the league to do something like intentionally kill anyone, let alone a _kid. _But then, they didn't know of anyone ever finding out a secret identity, let alone six, either.

"It's up to the league."

…

_Monday, the 14__th__ of November_

_10:00pm _

"What did you say!" Bataman exploded, turning around with such vehemence that his cape positively billowed out behind him in the superheroes' tower in space.

The six cringed; Kaldur's head was bowed low.

"Batman—" Diana started, her hand reached out to him.

"She _saw_ you? She knows who you are?" He continued his voice a roar in the suddenly silent tower. "I put their lives in your hands Kaldur, and this is how you handle that responsibility? _How could you let this happen!"_

"Wait it isn't his fa—"

"Robin be quiet." Batman's voice was still raised and loud but the order was barked in such a familiar way that Robin, quite chastised, hushed and stepped back again.

"It is not Kaldur'Ahm's fault that Kid Flash was unable to maintain his identity, and his consciousness." Aquaman said, crossing his arms and quickly placing blame on Flash and his protégé.

"Hey! Now wait a minute!" Flash yelled, standing up and coming at Aquaman. "If his _teammates_ had had his back that would never have happened."

At that point the heroes erupted in argument, each hero shouting to protect his own protégé, except for J'onn and Superman; one silent for his great composure, one because he wanted nothing to do with his miniature.

"Dinah," Diana said, covering her ears and turning to the blond babe.

Black Canary smirked and inhaled a deep breath. She let out a wail, halting the argument in its place and reducing all the heroes to their knees.

"We are adults, are we not?" Diana questioned into the now silent tower, looking at the heroes. "And, we are _supposed _to be the world's protectors. We will deal with this as we deal with everything else. Calmly and after we examine all of the facts."

J'onn took his lead from her and stepped forward. "M'gann. Where is the girl now?"

"She's with Red Arrow, uncle. He's watching her at the Mountain base,"

Green Arrow heard his former-apprentice's name and straightened, his attention caught in full.

"And she is secure? There is no threat to Red Arrow, or the base?" Diana questioned, hands on hips.

"We searched her things for communications equipment and bugs and found nothing. Megan checked for any psychic links and found none. Unless she has obtained exquisite fighting skills in the past few weeks, and has recovered the strength she lost in that time in one night, she is no threat to him or to any of us, in custody." Kaldur'Ahm stated, lifting his head like a soldier and looking directly ahead.

"Alright. Please, proceed to tell us what happened two nights ago,"


	14. Low Tides

_**A/N: Thanks for the reviews; it really makes me happy to read them. I'm trying to delve deeper into my own character, since the tv series give you the heroes personalities. Hope you're enjoying and looking forward to the building tensions. Please remember, READ AND REVIEW. **_

_Monday, the 14th of November_

_10:26pm _

M'gann stood wither her fingers to her temples, her eyes clothed. She was drawing the memories of her five teammates so she could construct a cohesive picture of what had happened the night before. J'onn took it from there and recounted it verbally back to the rest of the League's six founders.

"A group of teens attacked a pair, a boy by the name of Jake McAlister and a girl by the name of Cailan Leal. It seems this McAlister was…working with them. There were four offenders: a girl they called Patch, two meta-humans; one a hyena-boy and one very much like a…jack-o-lantern, and their leader; an older boy going by the name of Baal.

"It seems they were well trained not only in combat but also in our young team's particular fighting styles. They seemed intent on capturing the boy, McAlister; they succeeded. This Cailan appears to have been tied up with McAlister; she fits into the story towards the end. In some under-handed attacks, this team of pranksters gained the upper hand. In an effort to rescue Robin, Kid Flash and Artemis put themselves between him and the Jack-meta human. Kid Flash received the decisive blow, intended for Robin. With the young archer's help, the blow that—intended for Robin—struck Kid Flash was not fatal. However, through a turn of events with Baal and Patch, after Kid Flash had fallen he was left unattended.

"The Jack-meta advanced; his intent was to eliminate Kid Flash, in the most permanent of manners. For some reason, the meta removed Kid Flash's mask; it was just before he killed our young speeder that Cailan struck the meta."

"It seems," J'onn said, turning from the kids to face his other five founders. "she saved Wally's life."

He and the other's exchanged looks and engaged in conversation via J'onn's telepathy.

…

Roy sighed unhappily and threw his hat to the ground, slumping into a chair and playing with a corner of Megan's magazine absently. Once again, he was baby-sitting. He hardly knew why he was needed anyway. All she was doing—all she had done for the past day, was sleep. He glanced into the den where she was still lying on the couch, covered with the blanket Wally had so thoughtfully put over her.

He surprised himself. Roy had to admit, the kid was nice to look at.

Roy stretched and swept his hat back on his head. So she was easy on the eyes; there were plenty of girls out there who were. Besides, she was just a kid; he had at least two or three years on her. Not to mention her behavior last night had him pegging her as quite a brat.

He stood and crossed his arms, pacing around a little, looking back into the room at the girl on the couch. Regardless of the attitude she had (that he was this close to not being able to stand), forgetting that she was a liability to his friends, he felt sorry for her. Looking at the kid as she lay on the couch she looked thin and frail, bringing to mind a rather pathetic image. She looked small and helpless there on the couch, much like a mouse or rabbit.

"Red Arrow,"

He started as the big screen flickered to life showing an image from the tower.

"Green Arrow," he nodded, unsure as to how to respond since he'd gone solo.

"We need you to bring the girl here,"

…

_10:43pm_

Cailan tried to stay calm as she followed Red Arrow through the portal and down the metal walk way. She'd never felt so exposed and judged before—and that was something she was used to. Her feet felt bitten with each step; maybe it was a hyper-awareness of the bitterly-cold metal she was walking on, the metal path that was leading her to judgment.

Her chest felt heavy under the jacket—Red Arrow had found her something for better coverage. She didn't think it was her injuries talking either; she _felt_ guilty of something as she walked—in her mind in slow motion—towards the famed Justice League. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, her skin rippled with goose-bumps.

"Cailan Leal,"

Her ears tingled as a deep voice said her name, the sound echoing in booming waves through the vast space-tower. She found herself unable to answer. Red Arrow was suddenly off to the side, gone; she was standing alone before six towering figures, all looks solemn and stern.

She'd never felt so terrified and unsure. Her voice stuck in her throat as if she'd swallowed cotton. Unable to answer, she nodded.

"What you did the other night was very brave," Princess Diana said, much more gently than her appearance seemed to allow for.

Cailan was only dimly aware of her own voice answering that she didn't honestly remember most of that night.

"Yes, you see to have sustained some injuries." Batman said; she heard the bite in his voice and felt her breath hitch; her lungs weren't working.

"Batman, perhaps I should talk with her," the Martian Manhunter said, phasing through the control panel they all stood behind.

"I agree," Superman interjected before Batman could speak the words that threatened to come out of his open mouth.

…

It wasn't like any interrogation room she'd seen on tv. The chair was comfortable; there was no giant two-way-mirror on the wall behind the man questioning her. She didn't know that J'onn was transmitting the whole thing to the other head league members, but as far as she could tell this was more of a session with a psychiatrist than an interrogation.

"I will get right to the point, Ms. Leal," the Manhunter spoke to her, his face inexpressive. "I can and will read your mind to find out just what you know and what you intend to do with that knowledge."

"I don't want to do anything with it." She blurted out, shocking herself with the proclamation.

"What were you doing in the Narrows,"

Cailan swallowed; he had a soothing way of speaking and an ease in which she was aware he was lulling her into. "Trying to escape, I guess,"

"From what were you escaping,"

Cailan couldn't stop the flood of emotions that tried to drown her, nor the images that begin sifting back from her locked-away subconscious. She callously shrugged her shoulder.

"Dunno."

"Ms. Leal, I know when you lie because, at this moment in this room, I know your thoughts."

"Then why bother asking?" She clinched her jaw and looked away, regretting her stubborn outburst and childish antagonizing.

"Is there not something you want to say?" he seemed genuinely surprised.

"Why were you in the Narrows,"

"I was running away."

"What were you running from,"

"I lied about lots of things. They started coming undone."

"Why did you lie about your life and your family," his voice held a slight intonation, differing in a fraction from the flat, gentle monotone.

"I was hiding from my relatives." She tried to listen intently to his voice and mimic his speech fluctuations. It gave her something to focus on when she answered.

"And where did this 'hiding' lead you,"

"…" she looked up and struggled to remind herself to focus on the voice fluctuations. It took her a while to compose herself. "Here. It led me here."

"Cailan," she shivered with a dread she didn't understand why she was feeling. "The fact you know the identities of our young team is highly volatile."

"You can read my mind, right?" she said, seemingly ignoring what he'd just said.

"Yes."

"Then can't you just go talk with the league and tell them whatever you found? I hate sitting in here wondering."

Her hands felt clammy and she couldn't meet his eye after she'd spoken.

"They cannot hear anything yet, if that will reassure you,"

She blushed.

"Cailan,"

"I ran because I hated them." She interrupted. "Is that what you want to hear? That I _hate_? Do you want to hear how I'm _human_ and that I hate? I do. How does that affect your judgment? Are you worried now that I'll go out and betray my friends on a whim because I'm _human _and capable of _hate?_" Her hands clenched on her legs and her jaw snapped as ground her teeth together.

"I do not believe you would do that, under any circumstances."

When she looked up, he was gone and she was alone in the room.

…

_11:01pm_

"What we have to fear from the child is harm coming to her, and nothing more," J'onn said as he strode towards his colleagues.

"And we're just supposed to trust her to keep her mouth shut?" Batman said, stepping to meet him.

"I believe we can." The alien said simply.

"Maybe it was impossible to think we could keep it secret forever," Diana ventured, sending a gentle gaze to Bruce Wayne. "J'onn doesn't think the girl is any harm, and quite frankly I don't either."

"Wally seems to like her enough," the Flash shrugged, chipping in. "I mean, she's a good kid,"

"My people are not generally so trusting," Aquaman began, looking longingly down towards the earth through the window; Batman's tension eased a little, thinking he'd found an ally. "Yet Kaldur's behavior indicates at least that much."

"Clark," Batman said again turning so that his cape swished around him.

Superman stood, looking around at the other heroes.

"What's happened can't be undone, Bruce," he finally said. "I know losing Jason—"

"Don't." Batman ordered, his voice cold.

"Her parents are dead," J'onn said, ending the fight before it began. "They died in a car crash. When she was _eight."_

It was crude manipulation, to be sure. But it had the effect the Manhunter wanted. Both Bruce's and Dick's parents had perished, when the boys were around the same age. The correlation between the events had the desired effects and Batman stilled momentarily, drinking in the new information.

"For now," the alien continued, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Our biggest concern with Cailan Leal is keeping her safe."

…

_11:11pm_

"Listen, and listen good," Batman barked, the young team assembled before him, Cailan standing still under the guard of the 'visiting' Red Arrow. "You blundered, and that fault has caused a serious catch in the integrity and safety of all the heroes of the League. Until further notice,"

He scrutinized each one of the teens, especially Dick, as his gaze swept over them, his voice hard. "prepare a room, and figure out how to keep an eye on your…_guest._"

…

_Saturday, 20__th__ of November _

_4:00pm _

"Good to see you again," Wally rolled his eyes as Artemis walked through the portal.

"Forgive me for not wanting to live every second of my life around _her_." She spat back, taking a defensive stance.

"Here we go again" Dick sighed. It'd been nearly a week since Batman had taken him on a mission. "I'm gonna go practice before the fire starts,"

"Will you two give it a rest?" Megan asked quietly, slumping her shoulders, pom-poms falling to her sides.

"Why don't you ask her?" Conner said, continuing a conversation that had just been interrupted.

"…no, no I don't want to bother her." The alien smiled at the clone, who shook his head in confusion. He didn't think he'd ever understand her.

"Yeah, go get her, see what a grand ol'time we all have then," Artemis threatened, her eyes shooting daggers.

"Artemis," Kaldur walked in from the ocean, his hair still wet.

"I don't need another lecture and I'm not going to get off it." The blond growled.

"I'm not going to lecture you, Artemis. Whether we want her here or not, we have no choice. It is an order from the league that she remain here until further notice."

"I don't care what the league says! This isn't her home, and I won't—" she stopped short, finally aware of what she was about to say.

"Team," Batman's face came to view on the screen, disrupting the dispute.

…

"What's with the emergency training session?" Wally asked of Black Canary.

"Not at liberty to say kid, not my job. I'm here to train you. Now, who's first?"

The new training session was brutal. Teammate after teammate was ended on the floor, gasping for breath. Even Artemis and Dick, the two expert martial artists, even Conner, the strongest boy alive couldn't hold his own; none of the training they'd had before had prepared them for this.

"Just what the hell is this?" Conner growled as he was once again tossed from the practice arena, only stopped from crashing through the wall because of Megan.

"Watch the tone," Black Canary warned gently. "I'm following orders."

"Is that all we ever do? Follow orders, get bossed around?" Artemis questioned.

"In a word, yes. It's one way we're a part of the team. We tried running around on our own before; we were hardly better than the police forces. We could handle _some_ things, but it was not a collective good we managed."

"Black Canary," Kaldur said, breathing hard. "Is this training, or punishment?"

"What, am I beating the mistake out of you? Kaldur," she said drawing out his name. "You of all the young heroes should know better. There's something coming. After reviewing what happened with that group a week ago, we realized you were unprepared."

"Hey," Wally began.

"Not of your own deficiencies," the woman quickly corrected. "We were training you at the pace we saw fit for our current advisories. Now, can we continue?"

They did continue, and the young team got their butts handed to them. However, aside from forcing them to push their limits, the fight drained all the animosity out of them. While it was only one practice and what they learned and what they were able to do had not fully coincided yet, their growth was apparent.

"Alright guys," The beautiful woman said, drawing her hair back behind her and pulling Dick to his feet. "That was good work for today; practice with each other, work hard. Oh, and" she turned back to them from the portal, looking devious as she gazed over her shoulder "learn to adapt."

With that she was gone.

"'learn to adapt?' what does she mean, we're working our butts off at 'adapting' to this whole team thing and working covertly!"

"Dude, not sure that's what she meant," Dick chuckled, his arms slumped between his legs, his chin practically resting on his chest.

They were all joking again, laughing. Kaldur felt some of the tension easing from his shoulders as they walked together through the hideout.

It fell to the floor when they walked into the living area.

"What are you doing."

It was Conner that growled out, surprising everyone. Cailan jumped and turned around, looking pretty guilty. She'd been staring out the window, from what they could tell.

"Sneaking around being suspicious," she said after a moment; her tone was unsure, caught between a joke and sarcasm.

"Not funny," Wally scuffed his shoe along the floor.

"Sorry."

"Way to dart around the question," Artemis said, keeping her tone surprisingly level.

"I was watching the ocean." Cailan said dismissively, turning back to the window.

She sighed and drew her arms around her. "Sorry…I'm not used to being tra—cooped up."

"Tch. Princess needs fresh air." Artemis scoffed under her breath.

"Do you wanna—"

"I'm just going back to sleep," Cailan cut Wally off and swept out of the room, not looking at them.

…

_Wednesday the 23__rd __November_

_3:34pm_

"Here's your schoolwork, Cailan," Megan said, knocking on the door to the room the elder teen was set up in.

"Oh," she looked up and had a regretful look on her face. "Thanks…Megan, but…"

With a sigh she adjusted and offered a spot on the bed to Megan. Eagerly, the alien took a seat and held onto the books in her lap.

"I dropped out of Gothem Academy," Cailan said, looking at the other girl squarely, watching the smile fall from Megan's face.

"What? But, but school is so important! Isn't it? Earth kids, they're supposed to go to school and to graduate and—"

"Does any of that really matter? Would I even be allowed to _go _to school? Megan, what good would a diploma be, if all I could do was hang it on one of these walls?"

"…you're making it sound bad… you're not a prisoner here. The League didn't kidnap _you_." Megan stood angrily. "You got yourself into this mess…"

Cailan let the door slam—she didn't have the nerve to try and stop a door that was swinging from a teenage girl's mind power.

"Great. Way to go; that's two down. Four more and they'll all hate you Cailan. Wonderful."

"What is wonderful?"

Cailan jumped and almost fell off the bed. "Kaldur,"

He arched his brows at her and nodded towards the inside of the room she stayed in. She nodded and pulled her knees up to herself on the bed.

"What is wonderful, if I may ask,"

"Oh…" she tried to hold her own, keep up her attitude she'd had for the past few weeks here. It was slipping. "Pissed off your friend—Megan."

"Ah. And why would she be angry?" he ran a hand through his hair.

"I said something to make her that way," her voice was flat but Kaldur was at his wit's end. His team was biting at the bits, there was too much stress on them, they were fighting. And no matter what he tried Cailan pushed him away and kept antagonizing them all.

"I have gathered that much. Cailan, this…situation, I am sorry things turned out this way. However I cannot help that. And I cannot have you tearing my team apart."

"And what if that's all I'm good at doing? Tearing people apart."


	15. Evaporating Puddles

_**A/N: I want to give a big shout-out to Zutara407, KKCopper, and Rowanfall; thank you all so much for reading loyally, reviewing kindly, and enjoying my story so much. You're words are very thoughtful and I thank you that you didn't judge my story **_**before**_** it had even started. Enjoy this next chapter, please remember to review. Oh and props to anyone who understands why Calian is laughing about the curly lock of hair, message me with your guess and I'll tell you if your right.**_

_Thursday, 1__st__ of December_

_4:46pm _

"You didn't have to," Cali said, turning to Kaldur and trying not to smile.

"Calian, you have done little but sleep, eat and stare out the windows for the two weeks you have been with us. One cannot stay inside forever,"

"Thanks Kaldur," she spun and kissed his cheek and turned back and walked to the water, pausing in her pace only to take off her shoes and socks.

He watched her, fighting a feeling of familiarity that began to rise inside him. Calian darted up to the water and hesitantly tip-toed along the wet sand; standing in the water where the waves lapsed peacefully over her feet.

"It's warm for December!" she called to him.

"Does that surprise you?" he asked, laughing to himself as he started walking after her. He felt anxious, and conniving. He wanted to continue one of their previous conversations and felt there was but one way to go about it.

"…yeah, Gotham's water is always cold," she said, looking up from the waters.

"Ah, yes. I am well acquainted with the Waters of Gotham. You like the ocean?"

She was laughing and racing the waves, walking out as they ebbed and jumping back so as not to get soaked. The way she smiled again struck certain chords, and he tried to push them away, believing them to be memories of Tula.

'Yeah, I do. My parents…" she stopped, her face caught between falling and a distant smile. He waited, watching as she swallowed hard and brought the smile back; it was the face she'd worn every day at school. "we used to go to the beach a lot. They taught me to swim, we'd go down just about every day of the summer. We'd drive down to Metropolis,"

"You miss them greatly,"

"What about your parents, Kaldur?" she asked, turning to him, her eyes held a question and he felt she wasn't simply changing topics but honestly curious.

"I did not know my parents," he said, trying to keep emotion from his voice. "I was raised by the Atlantian School and my King."

"Is it nice?"

"I do not understand," he looked at her, his head to one side.

"Atlantis, I mean. Is it nice?"

"Hm. It is more beautiful than anything I have seen in the surface world," he smiled proudly.

"You love it, huh?"

"Of course. It is my home; it is a great city with a wonderful king and queen. Are you not proud of Gotham City?"

Her lips twitched and he saw a sad smile. "I could never love Gotham city"

"Come," he said, taking her hand. "There is a cove this way; when the water rises high enough it gets caught in the stones here,"

Kaldur guided her towards a tide pool. "This is generally what happens with the tides Kaldur," she laughed as he stepped in.

"Humor me," He offered her his hand to help her down.

"Hey…" she stepped in next to him "it's—the water's warm,"

"It is a natural spring from the mountain; the tides serve to cool it down,"

She didn't let go of his hand as she moved towards the center with him. He couldn't help getting distracted by her anklet.

"Calian," he began, turning to face her; he almost regretted doing so because her hand slipped from his when she did. "What you were saying before, when you and Megan fought?"

"What do you mean," her smile was still innocent and unsuspecting.

"You said something," he paused and took a step back from her. "You said, something about tearing my team apart?"

"I don't think that's what I said," she said, her smile gone as she turned back to the water; he watched her trace her fingers over the ripples in the little pool.

"Do not split hairs," Kaldur groaned. She was unresponsive and continued playing with the water, so he changed tactics. "Megan was very upset,"

"…guess I should tell her I'm sorry,"

"arg," he growled under his breath; he got an ornery look on his face and used his powers to splash her.

She gasped and pulled back, the action causing her to slip and fall into the water fully. She looked up to him with a shocked expression, her eyes doe-like. He swallowed hard; he wasn't sure what he had expected, but certainly not a reaction like this. He'd seen her play with other guys like this at school and at parties; had he gotten the surface world wrong yet again?

"I am sorry," he started to apologize, leaning down to help her back to her feet.

She took his hand and looked up to him, letting him lean closely to her; she saw his muscles flex as he pulled her up. Before he realized it her face had split into a terribly mischievous grin and she used her dead-weight to pull him down into the water, tangling his legs in her own to bring him down. She laughed as he splashed down next to her; he took great care to brace himself as he fell, ensuring as much distance between their bodies as gravity would allow.

"Consider us even." She laughed out, her eyes closed in guarding from the splash of the salt water.

Kaldur felt a slight twinge of anger when he'd finally hit the bottom, but looking up and seeing the smile on her face, watching her try to blink through the water that coated her eyes, he felt it ebb away. He felt himself soften when he looked at her. Her lip was still a little swollen and discolored, but there was a light pout to it under the wound. Her cheeks were pale, enough so that the bruises there and around her eye—though very well into healing—stood out drastically and marked her. However, her face remained unmarred by these, at least, that was what he found when she smiled, or laughed.

He continued looking at her face; not sure what emotions were coursing through his body as he did so, but rather he was reserved to let them play out and surface so he could better understand. That was the reasoning behind why he did not instantly try to get up when she opened her eyes. Instead, he let her look up into his face from beneath her long brown lashes, let her smile of innocent play slowly fade into a line of uncertainty. He watched the blood flow to her face and color her cheeks, fighting with the color of the bruise.

"Then we are even," he said calmly, looking over her face.

…

He was poised over her carefully. Calian took note of his arms, placed so that his body hung over her; his arms were taught in suspending him. He looked calm and at ease but she'd been in this situation before; she could tell by his face that there were definitely different intentions with him than the others, but it was nonetheless something that made her squirm.

But, she'd wanted to see those stormy grey eyes looking into hers. Now that they were—

"Then we are even" Kaldur said, looking down at her.

He smiled, and began moving—still carefully—off of her. "I am sorry—"

"I did it," she said, quirking her brow argumentatively.

"Regardless," he offered her his hand again. This time she took it and let herself be pulled up to him.

Clearing her throat Calian began to wring out her clothes. "So…"

"Calian, I need you to tell me what you meant."

"Back to this again," she sighed, pausing for a moment to reply. "Kaldur, I don't want to—"

"It has little to do with what you want Calian." He stole himself for composure. "I will not let any harm come to my team, to my friends. It will not happen. Now, what was it you meant Calian, when you said you were only good for tearing people apart?"

He was thinking about the mole in his team; maybe this had been her plan all along and the two were somehow connected?

Her jaw clenched and unclenched several times before she opened it, but she said nothing. He watched her swallow, look at the ground, and wring out her clothes some more. All the while she seemed to be working to keep her face calm.

"You know my parents died right?" she didn't wait for him to respond. "That my parents died in a car crash nine years ago."

She swallowed and sat heavily down in the sand, staring at the waves. Her words hung on the air and Kaldur felt suddenly uneasy about asking her.

"But…no one knows that I killed them,"

When she turned to look at him her eyes were brimming with tears and her face was contorted with hurt.

…

_4:46pm_

"Where's Kaldur?" Artemis asked as she stretched through the portal.

Wally and Megan looked at each other.

"Outside,"

"On the beach,"

They said together.

"Oh, okay," she said, looking questioningly at them.

"Hey Conner," Megan said, averting her gaze; after all that'd happened in their undercover mission she didn't know where they stood. "Up for helping Wally and me cook dinner?"

"Sure," he shrugged, letting his eyes meet hers.

"Hey Robin," Artemis said as she was getting a glass of milk from the fridge.

The boy-wonder stretched; he'd had a long night with Batman and couldn't have been happier. They'd been on patrol, just like old times.

"Hey Artemis,"

"Anyone heard if we've got another brutal training session with Black Canary today?" the blond questioned as she put the milk back, watching the others stroll into the kitchen.

"Nah, haven't heard anything," Wally said, running with his speed to keep her from closing the fridge so he could grab a snack.

"We're making dinner Wally," Megan reminded him with a smile.

"Dude, I gotta eat to keep my speed," he winked, causing a slight frown from Superboy.

"Would you two like to help?" Megan smiled pleasantly, her entire being welcoming.

…

_4:48pm_

Kaldur stood in stunned silence for a moment, trying to process and understand what she'd said on his own. He didn't want to say anything and interrupt her, but the allegations she'd made against herself were frightening.

"Calian, it is not even probable that an eight year old child killed her parents." He said softly to her, hesitantly stepping forward.

"It doesn't matter, it's still my fault. I got them killed Kaldur." She drew in a shaky breath and turned a broken gaze back to the sea before she continued.

"My parents had me in ballet classes after my mom decided she couldn't teach me anymore. I got good, really, really good. Ballet is in my blood…or something I guess. I started getting rolls in companies for stage-work, for the children in some productions. Like, a doll in The Nutcracker or something. They were just small parts with little dancing, but they started getting bigger fast.

"When they died…" she paused, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "When they died, they'd taken me to the beach for my birthday. We stayed there all morning, and my dad taught me how to dive off the rocks. But…I had a performance that night. When it started getting later I got nervous. There were rules, I had to be at the stage at a certain time for rehearsal, getting costumes, final adaptations and that such. I got nervous and started complaining that I'd be late, that we needed to go.

"So we all piled into the car." Her voice got weak. "I kept saying we were going to be late, that we had to hurry. We had to make that dance; it was the most important of my life. My mom said that I was playing a drama queen and needed to calm down. It wouldn't be the end of the world if we were late. My dad told her to 'ease up' on me, after all, he said, she was the reason I was so caught up in dance anyways. He said she'd been pampering me with these dances; mom started saying that he was the one who spoiled me with games and toys, always calling me a princess. It was stupid, really.

"But I kept putting in my 'two piece'. I would defend one, then the other, then get so worried about that stupid performance that I'd start whining and begging my dad to go faster. God, I was being such a pain…" she clenched her jaw again. "My dad got mad, because I was being such a spoiled baby and I wouldn't stop yelling at them and he yelled at me to be quiet. 'Be quiet', he said 'or I'll turn this car around and we'll go home and you won't dance at all'. I went into hysterics, saying he couldn't do that, looking to my mom, telling her to make him let me dance. Mom was so angry with him. She said something, threatened something maybe, I don't remember. Whatever it was, it got his attention and he got quiet.

"Then mom got real quiet and looked out the window, over the ocean. And dad…dad looked to me. It was just for a second…and he smiled. He started to tell me that he was sorry and it'd be okay, that I'd make the dance… And then…"

Her voice started choking. It took her a long while to get herself composed this time. She sniffled, trying to wipe her eyes before the tears spilled out so that she wouldn't cry again, trying to control the muscles in her mouth from turning down wards. Her breathing was shaky at best.

"…and then a driver in a red pickup truck hit us head on doing almost ninety miles an hour. He was drunk, at six in the evening. He was drunk. And he hit us. And they…they…"

He watched her shoulders shake as she drew her dancer's legs up to her chest and hugged them tightly.

"I…" what was he going to say, 'I am sorry'? "I did not know that you were in the car too…"

"I saw them dying."

"But…I still do not understand Calian, how—"

"I started the stupid argument that caused their crash Kaldur, I sat there and watched them dying! I acted out and made my only other family hate me." she gave a wry, tearful laugh. "I'm still such a spoiled brat and was so 'perfect'" she spat the word "that my team started to hate me. Get it now?"

The boy sighed heavily and walked slowly towards her. Running a hand through his hair he sat heavily down next to her. "Calian…" he stole himself to look over her for a moment. It was not narcissistic pride, nor self-conceit that she had spoken through. He could see that she was nearly crushed under the guilt—whether deserved or not—she felt. "None of that was your fault,"

She gave a cruel laugh and shook her head. "My parents are dead and that's my fault,"

"They are dead because of an irresponsible man behind the wheel of a vehicle. You could not have done anything."

"You don't get it, if I hadn't been making such a scene and yelling at them he would have been paying attention to the road! He would have _seen_ the truck and he could have _swerved_. Our car could have been dented instead of…"

She stopped again, finding that the imagery was overtaking her thoughts.

"Calian, do not think of it. You could not have done anything; if your father had been able to swerve he would have. Their deaths are not on you,"

She shook her head and buried her face in her knees.

…

_5:16pm_

Kaldur didn't know what to do. It was the second time he'd seen her crying, but this time she wasn't distant from him. She was sitting right next to him, weak, helpless, and uncertain. And he was frozen in an apprehension drawn from his love for Tula.

The sun was beginning to set along the far horizon, spraying the sky and ocean with colors of fall and fire. As it died the sun glimmered against the bracelet she wore around her ankle and Kaldur felt part of him breaking. He knew that bracelet because he'd made it. But he didn't know how she'd gotten it. What was worse, he feared that now she'd confessed this weight from her heart, she would close herself off even more than before. It was a human being's first reaction to pain and loss.

He didn't understand why his heart was hurting him this way. He had seen plenty of people cry, had cried himself for his parents, for losing Tula, in frustration after a lost battle. He'd seen friends cry out their hearts, as well as children for whatever reason. He'd seen his team become moved to tears. But nothing struck him so painfully close as watching her cry.

Turning off his head and his reasoning Kaldur moved closer to her and slowly folded her into his chest. He was surprised when, far from resisting, she almost gladly accepted his embrace. She had her arms locked around her chest, as if to protect herself, to keep something out.

_Or, to keep the real pain in._ He thought. There was something almost radiant in the pathetic-ness of her tears. Kaldur kissed her forehead, drawing her body into his and letting her cry into him.

…

_5:30pm_

"Sorry," Calian tried to pull away, still sniffling but waking from what she realized had been a semi-sleep.

"It is alright," Kaldur said, not resisting heavily her movements away from him, nor forcing her away from him faster than she moved.

She wiped her eyes on her jacket sleeve, now only damp, and looked at the ground and the sea and the sky, avoiding his eyes.

"You know," he paused, again trying to force his reasoning away and to just act. "Megan really admires you,"

Calian scoffed and looked at him in disbelief. After her eyes searched his face for a moment, her own features changed with a look of surprise. "…really?"

"Yes, she does. If you wish to apologize, talk with her about cheerleading."

"…Kaldur, can I ask you something?"

"Of course,"

"Why is it you're so tolerant and nice to me? Wally had a crush on me, and I get that. But, I don't get you."

"You see that sea shell?" he asked her, changing the subject.

"…yeah…" she said slowly, not understanding where this conversation was suddenly going.

"See how the outside is rippled and rough, its colors neutral and soft: creams and whites, some browns maybe, blacks?"

"…yeah, most shells are like that…" she said, humoring him.

"And then the inside—"

"Is smooth and shiny and very pretty with mother-of-pearl-ness. Yes, I know sea-shells Kaldur. I had a collection once," she teased, her brow slightly furrowed as she tried to hurry him to his conclusion.

"You are a very impatient girl," he mused, looking at her fondly.

"Part of my charm."

"So I see." She started and looked at him, but his gaze had turned to the sea shell he'd picked up and was turning over. "I believe, Calian Leal, you are much like these shells. Your treasure is somewhere on the inside. However, you use any method you can from outside to hide it away. That is why,"

"…hm. So you're Sherlock Holmes, and I'm a mystery?" she said quizzically. "…I'll take that as a complement?"

Kaldur blushed. "I did not mean—"

"Relax," she smiled gently, and stood, brushing herself off. "I smell dinner cooking…if I'm invited," she paused and offered her hand.

"You will be my guest," he stood and bowed, offering his arm playfully.

…

_Friday the 9__th__ of December_

_3:17pm_

"You're pretty good you know," Calian said, startling Megan as she practiced her cheerleading moves.

"Huh? Oh! …you really think so?" Megan's face burst into a smile.

Calian nodded to her and sat down on the couch. "If you keep working at it you'll make the Knights next year."

"Oh really!" Megan dropped the pompoms and clapped her hands excitedly.

"I could show you some moves…if you wanted…" Calian offered, shrugging.

"That would be wonderful, please," Megan said, inching closer on the couch.

"Alright, got music?"

…

_3:29pm_

"…what's that?" Conner asked around eating a cereal bar.

"Calian and Megan," Wally said, his jaw hanging open. "they're practicing cheers,"

Conner paused in the doorway looking over Wally's shoulder. He continued watching his brows arching appreciatively.

"Like this?" Megan asked, doing a high kick and spinning.

"Yeah. Okay, and then you do a back-hand spring—that should be easy for you," Calian smiled as she leapt back.

"When you land, you draw your leg up," Calian brought her knee to her chest. "And kick,"

"Got it," Megan said.

"Kay, ready? On three,"

Calian restarted the music and did a count off and the two girls began a new routine, Megan watching Calian to keep time, Calian glancing at Megan to give reassurance. They made a good pair.

At the end of the routine Calian began improving, turning the cheer into a dance. Megan caught on quickly and the two had a great dance in no time. They were laughing as if they'd been friends for years.

"No doubt, there's a spot on the varsity team next year if you want it. Kiss that 'welcome to the Knights' hello," Calian laughed as they wound down, wiping sweat from her forehead.

"…How can you be sure if you're not going to be on the team," Megan said, a fight wavering on her voice between being obstinately angry and sad.

"'Cause I trained the girl who's taking my place," Calian replied with a little shrug. "I taught her what to look for, what to admire; she knows what to improve and what to emphasize. She'll know you're a good athlete."

"You guys know how to swing?" she asked suddenly, whipping around to face Wally and Conner. Blushing, the two boys fumbled over their words trying to say no and explain what they were doing all at the same time.

"Well, you're going to,"

…

_4:45pm_

"okay okay no more!" Wally yelled, laughing out his breaths.

Megan and Calian were both giggling fit to die and sat back on their heels. They'd planned quite a successful assult on Wally with Conner's help and had finally gotten the jokester back for his pranks and puns. The fact it was a tickled retribution made little difference.

"I suppose there's nothing that gets past you?" Calian joked to Conner who'd stayed out of their playful brawl for fear of his strength.

"No. It doesn't."

"Ah…should have guessed…" Calian nodded, trying again to control the muscles in her face.

"…"Conner narrowed his eyes, looking hard at her and Megan from the ground.

_Cali and Megan…_ "Wally!" he grinned, turning around to find the speeder behind him, caught in a guilty grin. "Hah, nice try Ca—"

But it was M'gann who had the surprise for him.

"Hey!" he growled as he was caught off guard and lifted from the ground.

"How long ya think you can hold me?" he challenged her, arching his eyebrow tauntingly.

"ooohhkahay," Calian trailed out after glancing at Megan. "We're getting gone," she winked to Wally.

"Wait, why?" he asked, looking confusedly back over his shoulder at the other two.

"Uh…gonna find—Artemis!"

…

_4:58pm_

Artemis stopped and jerked backwards to keep from walking headlong into Calian.

"What?"

"uh…" what was she supposed to say? Megan and Conner were seconds away from sucking face so she'd pulled Wally out of the living room? "hey…"

The blond looked at her indomitably. With her stares, Calian almost had trouble believing that she was in fact the elder of the two girls.

"You just get back?" Wally asked, unconsciously stepping in.

"I—uh…well, I—I…yeah, yeah I just got in." she stammered out. "I had a thing after school."

"Ah, cool. Well, it's about time for dinner, wanna help me and Calian?" Wally asked; Calian caught Artemis' eyes flick towards her.

"Actually Wally I'm no good in the kitchen. I don't really know how to cook," she said stepping away from him. "I'll…go see if I can help Di—Robin with the chores or something,"

She darted around the corner.

Calian couldn't explain it. There was something about the other's girl look that made her feel…anxious and panicked. There was a cold and calculating look in her eyes that unnerved Calian and she didn't know why.

"Calian?"

She jumped, not having realized that she'd been pacing in the library, she'd never been a pacer. "Hey Kal,"

Was it his eyes that made her so relaxed?

"Are you alright?"

"Oh, yeah. Just thinking,"

"Do you always pace frantically when you think?" he asked her, crossing his arms as his head tilted gently in inspecting her.

"Uh… I mean I…" she let out a breath and let her shoulders relax. "I was just a little frazzled I guess,"

"Is something the matter?" he straightened and took a step forward. "Did something happen between you and—"

"No," she interrupted him, shaking her head hard. "No, it wasn't anything like that… Have you ever known someone who just makes you feel…guilty?"

He adjusted himself again, allowing his position as leader to roll off his shoulders just a little lower than before. His brow furrowed as he tried to guess what she was getting at before she spoke again.

"Yes," he answered stalwartly.

"And, you feel guilty even though—at least for that moment—you've done nothing wrong?"

"Yes," he answered again, thinking back to old men with trenchant eyes and mother's with scornful gazes.

"I was just having one of those moments. That's all,"

Kaldur clenched himself on the inside; he didn't want to think he was falling in love with her smile.

…

_6:32pm_

"I'm sorry that dinner is late tonight," Megan apologized, blushing.

"No worries babe, your cooking magnificence more than makes up for it," Wally winked, gobbling down another spoonful of potatoes.

"It's delicious Megan," Conner agreed, gazing at her.

"Oh…thank you, Conner,"

Calian looked on a little enviously at the two and was amazed that the rest of the young team didn't seem to see it as well.

"Wally I thought you and Artemis were—"

"We had training. It's pretty important for what we do." Artemis said with a naturally fluctuating voice.

"Oh, right. I just thought that Wally—hey, you guys wanna play a game?" Calian asked, interrupting herself when she caught the look Kaldur was sending her.

She could read his face. _'Please, please do not start something up again. Do not antagonize her.'_ She was sure he was thinking.

"A game?" Dick scoffed, stopping his fork mid-lift.

"Haha, it's not as dorky as it sounds. It's to see how well you know each other." She said, straightening.

"…like, a team building exercise?" Megan asked, brightening.

"…sometimes."

"Explain it to us," Calian turned her eyes back to Kaldur, who's chin rested on his interwoven fingers, his dinner forgotten.

"Well, everyone gets a glass, filled to the top. Then we go around the table and tell three stories. Two of the stories are true things that have happened to us, one of them is something completely made up. The rest of us try to guess which story is the lie. If we guess right, the teller has to down the entire drink. If we get it wrong, we all take the drink instead. After a few rounds, to make it harder, we tell four stories; two are true, two are fal—"

"So it's a drinking game?" Artemis put down her fork and looked directly at Calian, finding she could no longer eat through the rules the girl was listing off.

"Traditionally, yeah. The point is usually to get shit-faced drunk at parties." Calian gave her a wry smile through pursed lips. "However, it doesn't _have_ to be. We can use anything from sparkling cider to milk to club soda."

"Heh, sounds kinda fun," Wally shrugged.

"I dunno…" Dick hesitated; Batman had forbid him from telling his teammates his true identity. That had sort of, kind of, fallen through. But he still wasn't sure how much personal information he should give them.

"Don't worry I just thought…it'd kinda be something _nice_ to talk about…" Calian shrugged and smiled off the hesitance.

"I think it is a good idea," Kaldur said; his team needed something to pick themselves up. "Megan, I think we have some orange juice in the fridge. Calian, would you do the honors?"

…

_8:09pm_

The table was in an uproar, laughing hysterically at one of Wally's stories. They had tears in their eyes and running down their cheeks while he told about one of his first escapades with the Flash.

"Alright, alright, alright," Wally chuckled, grinning happily at having reduced them to little more than slumped in fits of giggles. "Which one is the false story?"

He looked around the table expectantly, daring them to answer.

"My vote goes to you actually kissing Sarah Adams," Dick laughed across the table.

"Me too," Conner agreed, chuckling into a glass of water and clearing his throat.

"I think it's the one about the cat and your cousin," Calian shook her head and erupted into another round of giggles.

"I second that one," Megan smiled, trying to contain herself from bursting into another round of laughter and wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I third it," Artemis said, causing Calian to look up. "Hey, he's fast enough he could plant one on the president if he'd wanted to." She shrugged, her smile only making her look all the haughtier.

"I suppose that leaves my choice the odd one out." Kaldur said, leaning back in his chair. "I suppose,"

"C'mon, side with us Kaldur, we don't need another round of paper-rock-scissors for a tie-breaker," Megan giggled out.

"Dude come on, totally feel the aster on this one. There's no way he kissed Sarah!"

"I think my choice must rest with the ladies on this one," Kaldur conceded to the cat story.

Conner and Dick groaned, shaking their heads as they agreed that the cat story was the improbable falsity. The girls began laughing again.

"…geez, you guys suck!" Wally said, looking around at them disbelievingly.

"I knew it!" Dick shouted triumphantly, pushing himself up from the table.

"You're wrong too," Wally said, shooting his friend down with a roll of his eyes. "It was the last story about me and Flash!"

The table erupted again, their laughter echoing through the kitchen.

"What? I'm serious!" Wally protested, looking around at them.

"I don't know that I believe you," Artemis laughed.

"C'mon you guys, drink up. You lost," Wally said, crossing his arms and slouching in his seat.

"Okay, time to up the ante," Calian said, downing her oj in two deep gulps.

"What, more questions?" Conner asked, stretching.

"Yeah, but we're gonna get a drink that's not fun to drink," she said, standing and collecting the glasses and pitcher.

"You're not going to find any alcohol in here," Artemis said quickly, turning around to watch Calian carefully.

"Oh, really? I can't imagine why," Calian quipped. "Screw the booze, I'd be skinned alive if I tried it anyways. Nah, we're just gonna make it so that we're trying to abstain from drinking, as opposed to not minding."

They watched her rummage through the fridge; she added soda, apple juice and then chocolate milk.

"Gross," Dick wrinkled his nose as she set a glass in front of him.

"Haha, that's the point kiddo. Now, who's turn?"

…

Their game continued on for another hour or so. The laughs continued and they were all having a good time, without Artemis and Calian bumping heads.

"See, it's not just a useless game is it?" Calian said, lifting her glass in mock toast as she and the other's drank for losing this round to Megan.

"Well, it's entertaining yeah, but it doesn't really serve any needs," Dick shrugged.

"Someone once told me you can learn just as much from someone's lies as from what truth's they tell," Calian shot back, wrinkling her nose in disgust after downing the horrible mix.

"Pfft, who said that?" Artemis scoffed turning into her drink to keep from saying more.

"…a very good teacher,"

Kaldur saw the distant smile on her face and decided that Calian was talking about her father.

"I believe that it is your turn Calian," Kaldur interrupted, taking the drink pitcher and pouring another round.

"Heh…alright…" she leaned back and wracked her brain. Mostly she'd just been telling simple stories about school; said this to so-and-so, did this cheer and such-and-such happened. Her lies and mostly been obviously made up; actually, she'd suggested the game but she'd been putting the least effort into the stories out of all of them.

"Once upon a time there was a little girl," she started in a sing-song voice, kind of tilting her head back and forth as she spoke. "whoooo….went to the beach with her family every day. One day…the family built a sand castle…and…. And built up the walls almost as tall as she stood; they dug out the bottom until she could stand inside and couldn't see out unless she stood on her tip-toes. Then they filled the castle with water and caught snails and crabs, little things from the tide pools and placed them in the castle, on the walls and in the rooms. It was like a flea circus without the electronics."

"Uhm….oh! So, there was this guy, a senior… Brandon Calfaux, the guy with the stringy, straight hair, who wouldn't leave me alone. He'd ask me to all the dances, hit on me at all the games. And he'd send flowers to my house," Megan was riveted, thinking she was going to hear some tale of earth-girl romance. "Sorry Meg, nothing happened." Calian grinned. "So he graduates and goes away to college, right? Well, the guy sends me a letter—creepy as hell however he got my address. Well, in it was a cheesy love poem of undying affection and a lock of curly hair in the envelope.

"And…hm. One last one right?" Calian drummed her nails along the side of her glass, grazing her upper teeth over her lower lip continually, her eyes glossing over the table, seemingly looking for some spark on inspiration.

Kaldur watched her eyes glass over as she stared at the wood of the tabletop. She stopped chewing her lip and let the corners of her mouth glide up into a soothing smile. She brushed a finger over her lips while she thought it out, smiling over nothing. When she spoke her voice was dreamy and far away.

"When I was a little girl I stayed with my godparents on the beach. Every day that I was with them they let me go down to the water to play. I would dance in the waves, kick up the sea foam. I loved going down just after dinner, because it was sunset…

…_Calian giggled and twirled in the sand, letting the gentle waves hit her legs with their ebb and flow. Every evening she went down and danced to the ever-chancing music that the sea made. One evening of her stay as she was dancing the waves were playful and hit her with enough force to knock her down. She fell, getting soaked form the waist up and giggled, splashing water out towards the depths, as if splashing a friend. She was getting up to resume dancing when she caught sight of someone. Startled she turned around, falling again. When she brushed the sea water from her eyes and looked back, there was nothing. But Calian didn't buy that. She had seen something there. Getting up she walked slowly and quietly through the waves towards the rocks to her right. She craned her neck, peering carefully around to see what it was. _

_There was nothing there, but, not deterred, she clambered without skill up onto the rocks and poked her head over the other side. As she looked down her eyes met the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen. They were silver, like the glint of ocean off of the inside of a shell. She looked into the boys eyes, entranced as he looked back at her. He stood from his crouching position, his face unreadable. She blinked a few times; his light hair was still glittering with sea salt and droplets of water, his skin was kissed by the ocean's sun. _

"_You are a good dancer," he said to her. _

_She blushed and giggled, looking away. This made the boy uncomfortable and he shifted, his brow wrinkling a little bit at her. _

"_No, don't be angry," she said, hurrying to slide down the other side, her romper pulling up to show the attached shorts beneath. "I'm Calian," she said, giving a little girlish bow. _

"_I—I should not be talking to you," the boy said, backing towards the ocean's waves. _

"…_oh…why not?" her face fell and her lips pouted at him, her sea-glass-green eyes sparkling out from under heavy lashes. _

"…_you…are different than me…than my people…" the boy paused, looking back over his shoulder. _

"_Is that wrong?" she said, tilting her head, the few random braids she wore swinging slightly. _

"…_your people are…are not good. They are bad people, and I am not to a-as-associate" the boy took trouble sounding out the large word "with you or your kind," _

"_I'm not bad," she said, putting her hands behind her back. "I like you. We could be friends. Would you like to be my friend?"_

_He had taken the hand she'd offered to him. Every evening after that they'd meet at the rocks. He showed her the tide pools and she would dance for him. She never said anything about his hands or the marks on his body and neck. The boy realized that she didn't think they mattered. She saw them, noticed the skin between his fingers because she'd adjust her own when they held hands. She just didn't care about the difference. She'd asked where he'd come from once, and after he said he couldn't tell her she said nothing of it again. _

_They would play for hours by the water; her nose was sun kissed pink that summer. They build the best sand castles together—he was an expert. He found her beautiful shells with which to make the doors, the thrones and the bridges. He would tell her the most magnificent stories as they built the castles. He told her about the castle he lived in, about the dolphins and fish and his king. He spoke of his best friend, a boy that he trained and went to school with. He had wonderful stories of school. He reassured her when she confessed her worries to him about her own upcoming school year._

_But Calian's evenings at the beach with her new found and mysterious friend were drawing to a close. She would be going home in two day's time. He found her crying one evening, hiding from him away from their usual meeting place. _

"_Calian, what is wrong?" he asked, sitting down and putting his arms around her. _

"…_I have to leave soon. Tomorrow is the last day I'm here. I want to stay friends! What if we can never play again?"_

"_Do not cry," he said, resting his head on top of hers. "We will always be friends. Come, let us enjoy today and tomorrow. Shall we make another castle?"_

_He brushed off her tears and pulled her to her feet, leading her back towards the rocks. They spent wonderful hours that day making the grandest sand castle to have ever been made. Then the evening shifted to night and she was called back inside. _

"_Do you love me?" she asked as they crouched close together in front of their magical castle. Her green eyes positively glowed in the light reflected to them off the water by the almost-set sun. Her eyes were so earnest and innocent, her lashes catching the moonbeams. _

_He looked at her, constantly reminded of their fading time together as the voices of her guardians grew louder calling her name. _

"_Do you love me?" she asked again, worry creeping into her face now. _

"_Yes." He nodded once. _

_She smiled and quickly hugged him. "Then we'll always be friends…even…even if we never meet again."_

_With that she hurried off to intercept the adults who were frighteningly close now. He watched her skirt off, admiring her bare feet dancing over the sand. As he backed into the growing waves he watched her back receding into the light emitted from the glow of the houses. He knew what he was going to do. He wanted to give her something to remember him by. _

_The next evening the boy was there early, waiting for her. He knew they would only have a few minutes together, just long enough for him to say good bye and give her his gift. His heart was racing. _

"_You're here!" she said, beginning to run to him when she saw him from a distance. _

"_Of course," he laughed, catching her in her hug. "Calian,"_

_She pulled away and looked at him, her eyes glittering. "Will you dance for me?"_

_Her face broke into an innocent smile and she nodded, her chestnut hair bouncing in her ponytail. She pulled away from him and made a little curtsy, and she began to dance, closing her eyes and listening to the ballad the sea gave her. He clapped when she'd finished, standing and bowing to her, offering her his hand. She took it and let him pull her to the side, out of view from everything. They stood with their feet in the waves, the sea foam building up around the rocks and their legs._

"_Calian…I—I made something for you," he said, holding her hand and not meeting her eyes. "It—it means…'forever' where I come from. So…you will always have something to remember our friendship," _

_He drew forth a bracelet, the likes of which she'd never seen. Its thread was a silver-green metal, braided and beads intertwined within the strands. In the middle was a mother-of-pearl shell. She looked at it and gasped. Her mouth hung open, speechless. _

"_I…thank you so much…I don't…what can I…" she threw her arms around him in a hug of gratitude. "I love it." _

"_There is one other thing…" he hesitated._

"_Wait," she pulled from the embrace, blushing. "I…have a gift for you too…butyouhavetocloseyoureyes."_

_He paused a moment and then, taking her rushed words to be hurried from her encroaching time of departure, he did as she asked. He waited a moment, standing there with his eyes closed. His slate eyes flew open when he felt her lips at the corner of his in a kiss. They looked at each other for a moment, and then Calian turned to run towards her parents who were calling out her name. _

"_Calian, wait!" he called, catching her arm. "I…need to tell you something. My name…it's—"_

—okay, so there are your stories," Calian said, stretching her arms over her head.

They all talked together, Megan musing out loud which was more probable of the sandcastles, Artemis making crude assumptions and innuendos with the letter story. Only Kaldur remained silent, trying to keep his face expressionless in thought.

They began joking with each other. And with the good humor the jokes and teases started flying, and when they started flying the jokes began to subtly turn into slight jabs.

"Okay, maybe it's not totally authentic but come off it," Wally was saying "the idea of a 'boy from the sea' who 'builds _magical_ sandcastles with a little girl he doesn't know, no way. I do give you props on creativity though,"

" I dunno, catching crabs and snails and tide-pool creatures and placing them in a hollowed sandcastle doesn't sound legit either,"

"I'm with the Wal-man on this one," Dick said. "that last story was too outta here to be real. It's definitely the one about the dancing-sea princess and the boy-from the sea one that's the lie,"

"I third that. No way a love story like that really happened. A little boy coming out of the sea?" Artemis scoffed, waving her hand as if to dismiss the notion.

Kaldur cleared his throat. "It is not possible for someone to come from the sea?" he questioned playfully.

"Well, your people aren't allowed near the surface, are they?" Dick asked, shrugging at their perfect logic. "Isn't it like…against the laws?"

"Not so dramatic, but yes. We do not tend to come close to the surface dwellers unless we must," Kaldur submitted, deciding not to play devil's advocate.

"I dunno…" Megan started.

"I gotta say I'm with the other's on this…" Conner said, sending an apologetic look to Megan.

"Well…I guess Calian's last story is our pick. Kaldur?"

"I believe I will sit this one out," He smiled, pushing his empty glass away from him in an off-hand way of saying he didn't think that his stomach could handle more of the drink. He was really thinking about her story.

"Then it's decided. The last story was the lie," Artemis said, turning to face Calian.

Calian struggled to smile and Kaldur knew without looking it was the smile she had reserved for Artemis and for School; it was not her smile.

"Caught me," She said, fighting to keep the dryness from her voice.

"Ew, so you really had a senior stalk you?" Wally demanded, sticking out his tongue.

"Heh, yeah," Calian said before chugging the glass of liquids down as fast as she could so she didn't taste it.

"Wait, I don't understand something," Megan said, stopping and looking hard at Calian.

"Hm?"

"Well, you said that boy had long, straight hair."

"Yeah…"

"So…why was the lock that you got in the envelope curly?" the alien asked.

Calian's eyes danced around the room; the others were looking at her expectantly, none of them understanding. Her face twisted as she resisted the urge to laugh hysterically. Through her giggles she managed "Don't worry. When you're older you'll get it,"

…

_9:47pm_

"It's alright, I'll help with dishes tonight," Calian said, starting to collect the plates from off the table.

"Oh, thanks Calian!" Megan said.

"I can help her this time M'gann." Kaldur said, placing a webbed hand over the Martian's. "You always make dinner, it is not fair you should also always clean up."

"Yeah, go get some sleep" Calian laughed to the others.

"Yeah, I should be heading home," Wally said stretching.

"Me too, I gotta report to the Bat-cave for a meeting with Batman tonight," Dick muttered, yawing.

"I should get back too…school tomorrow and all," Artemis said, eyeing Calian as she turned to go.

"Guess that leaves the four of us," Megan smiled.

That suited her and Conner just fine, and Calian and Kaldur were set as well.

"Good night then." Kaldur said to his team before they all diverged for the night.

"That was enjoyable," Kaldur said, choosing his words precisely.

"Hm? Oh, the game. Yeah, it's pretty fun even when you're sober," she joked, sticking her tongue out.

"The lock of hair that you received," he began, tip-toe-ing around the topic he wanted to speak about.

"Lock of hair…" she said, stopping over the table as she was reaching for Wally's clean plate.

"The one from your story," he said again, now pausing in his own work to look at her. She made no response and her eyes remained questioning. "The lock of curly hair you said you received. From the boy…the junior…"

"Oh!" she shook her head and laughed. "Heh, yeah, what about the lock of hair?"

Kaldur mused over the detail she hadn't corrected him on, debating if he should try another.

"This…Ben—"

"Uh, no it was, uh…ah,"

"Bradly?"

"Er yeah, sorry. What about him?"

"I am simply wondering what Megan asked about. If he had straight hair, why was the lock he sent you curly?"

This again set the girl laughing, almost uncontrollably this time.

"Wait," she said, after catching her breath. "You mean…you really don't know?"

He shook his head. As he looked at her, her cheeks started to get flushed and soon it looked either like she'd been slapped or had applied a very liberal amount of rouge to her cheeks. She started blinking heavily and was again chewing at her bottom lip.

"…it…embarrasses you?" he questioned, keeping his face towards drying the dishes she handed him and looking at her from the corner of his eye.

"Hah, that's an understatement Kal. I actually think I'd have to be drunk to tell you,"

"I see."

…

Calian wondered if he could hear her heart pounding. Did he have hearing like Superboy? Could Superboy hear her heart? Or would he be too preoccupied with Megan to care that her heart was thundering along like a locomotive train chugging along some tracks across the wild west? She felt a shiver run down her spine as the silence between her and Kaldur continued.

It wasn't even an uncomfortable silence. But that was what she was finding to unnerve her so much. That it was comfortable.

"Calian," she hoped he couldn't see the shudder that ran through her; he had a deep, rich voice.

"Yeah?" was he looking at her because of how breathless she was?

"Batman…" Kaldur paused, unsure of how much he was to reveal at this point. "…knows a man…an important man in Gotham. Every year he hosts a Christmas Ball; there is always a mix of league members there to keep an eye on things, but many go off duty as well, sometimes in disguise. It is a charity; Mr. Wayne invites the richest men and women of Gotham. Sometimes there are themes, such as Monte Carlo night."

"That sounds wonderful. What does the charity go to?" she asked, stopping in her work to smile adoringly at him; he warmed at the look of joy she had to learn that someone as rich as Bruce Wayne cared.

"I believe a multitude of things; I know for sure that…there is an orphan's fund by the city that he contributes to." Kaldur said, smiling back.

"That's so awesome! So this Mr. Wayne—" she stopped midsentence and froze with her hands in the sudsy sink. "Wait…like…_Bruce Wayne?"_

"…yes."

"Woah."

"I was wondering…" Kaldur paused and cleared his throat. Now he understood Megan's fascination with being an earthgirl. Now that he was in this position, he understood some of the difficulties of being a surface dweller.

"What?" she laughed a little, smiling at him unknowingly.

"Well, we have all been invited with our mentors to make an appearance. I will of course be going as Aqualad and not Kaldur'Ahm…though I have no disguise." He realized he was babbling and this confused him. "Ahem. Miss Martian will go with her Uncle as the Mores', Artemis and Green Arrow, Wally and Flash, Superboy…"

"He doesn't get much from Superman…does he?" she questioned softly, inadvertently changing the topic.

"No…but I believe he will be attending as well. And Robin too, with Batman of course…"

She continued washing dishes, waiting for him to continue.

"We have not yet been told the theme or the time…but…I would very much appreciate…that is, if you would like to, I mean," he realized that unless Red Arrow wasn't going, she'd have little choice but to make an appearance. "Would you mind very much if I asked you to accompany me?"

Calian stood there with the same smile, washing the dishes; for a moment he thought she hadn't heard him. Then she dropped the plate in the water and started, looking a little startled as what he'd asked set in. "Wait, like…you mean me and you go to this thing together?"

"Of course if you do not wish to do so—"

"No, no, of course I would certainly wish to do so," she said, shaking her head and smiling at him. He looked over her face carefully. It was her real smile, the one that touched her eyes and made her face glow. She continued smiling and her eyes began darting from his face to the dishes and trying to slyly look at him (though he caught her doing so).

Kaldur realized she was embarrassed by him looking at her, and that, even more surprising to him, his request had caught her completely off guard. She hadn't been expecting it in the least.

_**A/N:so sorry it took so long but hotdang! This chapter is frickin 23 full pages in word! O.o**_


	16. Evaporating Puddles part 2

_**A**__**/N: This was originally supposed to be only one chapter, but it's gotten to be so long I'm splitting it into two parts, but they'll be published together. **_

_Saturday the 17__th__ of December_

_12:00am_

"_It is not possible…and yet…" _Kaldur rolled to his side in the mountain side layer, away from the alarm clock. He sighed heavily, closing his eyes against the moonlight streaming into his room. No matter what he tried he couldn't get to sleep.

"_I gave the anklet to _Tula_, not to Cailan…I am sure of it. I did not even know her until this summer! But the story she told…"_ Kaldur flipped onto his stomach and buried his face into the pillow.

"_The story she told was exactly as I remember, but I do not remember Cailan!" _

…

Cailan held her breath as she peered around the corner. She was sure she'd heard everyone go to sleep already but she couldn't be sure of it. And the last thing she wanted was for them to think she was trying to escape or snooping around.

The coast was clear.

Constantly looking over her shoulder she opened the blinds to the windows, the moonlight flooding into the living room of the mountain hideaway. She wanted more than anything to open the window, climb out and walk along the beach, feeling the cool sand between her toes, feeling the warm waters of the night lick her feet.

However, the alarm was on and if she unlocked the window it would go off and then she'd really be in trouble. With a sigh she put the ear buds of her headphones into her ears and began listening to _Requiem, _closing her eyes and drawing her breath in deep. 

Cailan was frustrated out of her mind. She didn't _want_ to dance; she felt it was senseless, especially now. All through high school she'd kept the foolish hope alive that she'd be scouted and giving a college scholarship for her dancing abilities. She'd entertained the notion that she'd be accepted into a ballet troupe and she'd make a name for herself, that she'd finally make it like she'd dreamed. But it'd always been just a _dream_. Deep down she'd known that the possibilities of it actually coming true were little to none.

And now she was stuck inside a mountain that no one knew about. She couldn't leave, couldn't go outside without an escort; Megan had insisted that she wasn't trapped, wasn't a prisoner, but the more Cailan thought about her dreams of being a dancer the more she felt like a bird in a cage, who's wings hadn't been clipped.

But she'd choreographed this dance for the performance at the end of the school year and now she couldn't stop thinking about the moves. She wanted them to be perfect. She had no reason to dance anymore, there wasn't any end that dancing would bring her to. Yet she still wanted the dance to be perfect. No, she didn't want it, it _had_ to be perfect.

The floors of the mountain base were specially made; they didn't tremble as she jumped and spun, they didn't vibrate with her moves. It wasn't like being in the school gymnasium where her footsteps echoed or like being on a stage where her steps became throbbing, deep masses. Here she was silent, like a ghost. Like a good dancer should be; her footfalls were as loud as drifting snow.

…

_12:34am_

Kaldur finally gave up on trying to sleep. He was going to get a drink and then slip into the waters at the base of the mountain for a swim. He needed to clear his head.

He stretched and massaged his neck; crime had been down and his team was getting along better now. The stress had eased somewhat. Yet there was a growing fear at the back of his mind that they were coming across something even greater, that they had some trail yet to face.

"_And there's still the matter of that mole…" _he grimly reminded himself as he massaged the back of his neck walking down the hall.

He passed the doorway to the living room and then doubled back; he'd seen something. Pulling a stream of water from the sink and inched along the wall, his body prepared for attack. Shifting so as to peer around the corner he looked again. Doing so he let out a frustrated breath.

It was only Cailan.

He couldn't deny that he enjoyed watching her, but there was also an irritation in him. Did she not understand how dangerous it was? But no. How could she? Perhaps she would never understand. Kaldur let himself watch the gentle contours of her body move. She was lovely to watch.

She danced, at first, with painstaking perfection, her face strained in concentration. He watched her falter a few steps, but she ignored these and continued on. And soon, as he watched her face, her body relaxed. She let her body fully ease into dancing, she gave into it; he watched as she positively radiated. Her movements became less precise and less formal, but her movements more graceful and she made fewer mistakes when she gave her body up to her dance.

He looked on her and saw that it must be that she looked dancing how he felt swimming.

Kaldur did not feel a danger in letting her dance. He wished he could watch her, but his heart pulled him to the water. It stood well to him that this would serve as a first test to Cailan. She had free reign this night to do as she wished. For ill or good would decide where she stood in their family.

…

_4:42am_

Cailan's legs shook under her. She'd been at it for hours; constantly catching herself losing herself in the dance. It needed to be perfect, had to be and here she was, getting lost to the whims of movement that took her.

She was so taken that she didn't notice Conner come into the room.

For his own he watched for a little bit, through drowsy and lidded eyes. He nodded, a look of appreciation on his tired face, but he realized she took no notice of him.

"Cailan," he said, catching her with a hand on her shoulder.

She gasped, jumping nearly out of her skin as she turned around vehemently. She yanked the ear buds from her ears and breathed heavily, her eyes wide as she stared at him.

"Y-You scared me," she managed out.

"You're a good dancer," he nodded, still tired, the look on his face neutral.

"Uh…thanks. Thanks," she said, nodding.

"What are you doing up?"

"Uh…" she glanced down and looked at herself, sweating and trembling from the long practice. "d-dancing…"

"Ah…right," he nodded as if they'd been talking about deep philosophical things.

Conner rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stretched, rolling his neck.

"And you…" she asked, looking around and stepping back from him.

"Hungry; this must be what Wally feels like twenty-four, seven," he muttered with a shrug.

"Oh," was all she could say.

"Want something?" he called over his shoulder to her, as he walked into the kitchen.

"…yeah, yeah sounds good."

…

"Always get the munchies at four in the morning?" she questioned over a bowl of cereal.

He shrugged again.

"Heh, real talker huh?" she joked looking around slightly uncomfortable. Small talk wasn't her forte.

"I just don't have a lot to say," he said gruffly, looking up with narrowed eyes.

"Sorry," she said, cringing a little.

They ate on in silence for a while. Conner glanced up and looked her over. Thinking over it, he felt that maybe he'd been too grumpy. Megan had a similar disposition when he yelled at her.

With a heavy sigh he put down his spoon and looked up at her. "No, I am. I'm kind of grumpy when I first get up,"

"It's cool. I'm a total cat if I don't eat," she shrugged with a little smile.

"Fair enough," he smiled back.

"So, Superboy?" she said, questioning his name.

"…" he stopped and stared at his bowl of milk-sodden cereal for a long moment.

"Never mind, sorry." She said hastily.

"…it's…alright." He forced out. "I…am Superman's…I'm his clone."

It was Cailan's turn to freeze. "…that is…absolutely mind bending. I didn't think it was possible…" she looked up with bewildered eyes. "That's pretty cool."

Conner scoffed and rolled his eyes, digging into his food once again.

"You don't think so?"

"No." his voice was solid and she knew not to talk on it further.

"You care about Megan huh," she said, her eyes drifting to somewhere other than the present moment.

"…uh…well…yeah, I mean, she's a teammate and a friend…"

"And…you care a lot, right?" Cailan continued, as if she hadn't really heard his reply or the awkwardness in his voice.

"…sure…" he said bewildered as to where this was going. Had Megan asked her to talk with him?

"…how…how did you tell her? I mean…what do you say when you care for someone?"

Conner looked at her; this was something he'd never fathomed. He didn't even understand, he wasn't a real human kid. Where the heck was this conversation going?

"…uh…dunno. It just kinda happened," he said, letting his mind drift back to the in-prison kiss after he'd rescued Megan from the ice she'd been trapped inside.

"oh."

"What's with the questions?" he asked, turning it back on her.

"Urm…" she snapped out of her look and went positively red. "N-nothing. I…uh, just being nosey." She said, catching his eye then looking quickly away and shoveling cereal down as fast as she could.

"Well…I'm gonna get back to sleep. Night Conner," she said in a rush, drinking down her milk and darting to the sink to dispense of her bowl before nearly running to her room.

"Uh, okay. Night," Conner said to a nearly empty room, his eyebrows raised.

…

_Tuesday the 20__th__of December_

_11:13am_

"No school!"

"Wally you've said that every day of break so far," Megan laughed.

"But it's so great!" he laughed, running full speed through the hideout.

"Alright guys get over here!" Dick called as he came through the tunnel transport. "I've got the plans for the Wayne party,"

They gathered eagerly; it was a famed party and the first year the rest of them would be going.

"Hey, where's Kaldur?" Artemis asked as she meandered over with Megan, the two chitchatting.

"Yeah, come to think of it Cailan isn't around either…" Wally said looking around for his again-friend.

"…convenient they're both gone together," Dick mused, a sly look on his face.

"Hmm. They're down at the sea-exit with the ship," Megan said cheerfully, her hands at her temples.

…

"What are you two doing?" Wally taunted, like a little brother, hanging over the side of the entrance from the layer to the cave-exit at the base of the mountain.

Cailan looked up into the light, it making her eyes sparkle like emeralds. Her feet were dangling in the water. Kaldur was standing on it in front of her, working with his back to her at practicing his water techniques.

"Cailan has given us demonstrations of her talents," Kaldur said calmly and innocently. "I thought with her living here it would not be a problem for her to see what we do."

"I get to see you run all the time Wally," she added to Kaldur's point, shifting her gaze back to Kaldur on the water.

Wally felt a tinge inside and let his face fall to a frown. He darted down the stairs onto the platform where she sat. "You haven't seen half of what I can do," he argued.

Without waiting he darted off and was running on the water, running in circles around Kaldur.

"Wally," Kaldur said, adjusting his sorcery for Wally disrupting the waters he stood on.

Cailan straightened and let the smile she'd worn fall from her face.

"Hey stop goofing off!" Robin laughed. "I've got news, get your buts to the command-room!"

"Tch, Wally!" Kaldur said, the water-platform he was standing on rocking horribly side to side as Wally continued to run around the waters of the docking-bay.

"Wally, stop, I didn't mean it like that!" Cailan said, trying to hide her giggles.

"Hah, ever wanted to walk on water Cailan?" he said with a smirk, running over to where she sat and pulling her to her feet.

Cailan sank into the water up to her ankles when Wally began pulling her along, an arm around her waist to support her. She felt her body get jerked around this way and that, her feet skimming over the water.

"Wally!" Dick yelled, tossing his smoke-pellets at him.

"Hey!" Wally said, stopping; Cailan instantly fell into the water and Wally, realizing he'd stopped began to run just in time for her to slip from his hands.

She didn't have time even to gasp as she slid below the surface. She blinked fast a few times and then squeezed her eyes shut hard soon after. Her hair levitated about her face as she slowly sank towards the depths. Fighting the sting of the salt against her eyes she tread water, trying to get again to the surface. It wasn't any worry of hers about drowning.

And then her hair fell flat against her face and neck; her clothes hugged her body sodden all of a sudden. She slowly opened her eyes; they were blurred, she thought from the burning of the salty water. With a second glance, however, she saw she was, in fact, encased in a bubble of water. There was a gentle movement; not one of floating. What was happening was that as the 'bubble' of water was fed with undulating movements of water.

The water melted away and she was left sitting on the docking bay, looking up at Kaldur and Wally.

"Cailan—"

"Dude, don't start I'm fine." She laughed. "I _do _know how to swim."

She stood and began wringing the water out of her hair.

"We will get you a change of clothes and then shall we go find what Robin has heard of the…charity party?"

…

"Finally," Dick muttered as everyone filed into the command room.

"So what's the deal with the party?"

"What's the plan?" Wally asked.

"Calm down, calm down," Dick said, liking the feeling of their attention. "Alright, so here's the plan: The Bat and I show up incognito and run the shindig. The pre-party to nine is assigned already, all League members. Artemis, you are with Green Arrow, Hawk, Dove and Black Canary on the first round of during-party security, starting at nine and running until eleven. Superboy, you'll be the next round with Kladur, Aquaman, Huntress, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern. Kidflash, you, M'gann and I will be with Batman, Martian Manhunter and Flash.

"Our shifts're about two hours each, but the two hours are divided evenly into segments; we'll have about fifteen to twenty minutes, in pairs with our guard-group, to go about the party on shift. This is to exchange information, keep tabs on any suspicious activity and report to other members of the League. There will be other heroes there, of course, but we're not on shift with any of them, so reporting will be a strictly need-based operation."

"Alright cool," Wally said, rubbing his hands together. "So work and play, I like it."

"Yeah, sounds like a plan. I assume we'll be getting more details that night, before we actually go on shift."

"Hey, you guys haven't heard the best part!" Dick said, his secretive laughter echoing around the table.

"But I bet you're pretty excited to tell us," Artemis laughed, crossing her arms.

"Tch. Duh," the boy wonder said, rolling his eyes at her.

"Well?" Conner asked, prodding Dick.

"Heheh, the theme's a masquerade ball."

…

"…Masquerade?" Wally asked, his excitement slightly stemmed.

"Isn't that just a little cliché?" Artemis said, her voice showing her discontent.

"Tch, yeah, like, seriously? Phantom of the Opera much?" the speed-demon joked as he nudged Artemis in the side.

"Eh. Maybe." Dick shrugged "but it makes hiding the good guys a heck of a lot easier."

"Wouldn't it make finding someone harder?" Cailan asked.

"Well yeah, that's the point," Dick said, scrutinizing her.

"No, I think I understand what Cailan is saying." Kaldur mused, stepping forward into the room. "If someone, such as Cheshire, were to infiltrate the party, it would be hard to find the perpetrator among a crowd of masked party-goers."

"Why would the League agree to a party where potential bad-guys could get in so easily?" Cailan asked as she sat at the table.

There was a tense moment when everyone was quiet and glances were exchanged.

Cailan sighed. "Even if I was some kind of spy out to get you guys, it isn't as if I could get any information out of here, is it? Aren't you ever going to trust me?"

"…point taken," Wally said after some thought, also sitting down. "That aside, we still can't really answer you. It isn't as if we really know what the League's got planned."

Her eyes glittered with something as she looked up at him; Wally was slightly unsettled as her green orbs flashed.

"It seems to me we will need masks for this ball," Kaldur shrugged to his team, his eyes lingering over Cailan.

…

_2:00pm_

"Hey Megan," Cailan came in from the old training room, sweat still running down her body; Kaldur had said it'd be fine to dance in there since they weren't using it for anything. "Uh, I had a question…"

Cailan couldn't remember feeling so anxious about talking with someone before. She'd spent the last five years of her life faking friendships and skirting plans to hide. Now she didn't have to hide. And she was desperate for a friend.

"Oh okay," Megan smiled and waited.

"Uh, well…K-Kaldur invited me to the party—"

"Oh that's so great! It'll be such a wonderful party, I'm really excited! It's the perfect time to display my new earth-girl persona and learn how to be a better one! I can't wait, Conner and I—uh, I mean…that is…he's looking forward to it too,"

"Ah, cool," Cailan nodded, trying to bypass Megan's embarrassment. "Urm, so…ya wanna make some masks for it together…cause…it's a masquerade and all…?"

"That sounds like fun. Ooh! Let's invite Artemis too! She'll need a mask when she's not in uniform too. Oh, and we can make our masks match our dresses! Do you know what you're going to wear, you'll look so pretty in a ball gown Cailan,"

"Urh, thanks Megan. I'll be excited to see what you create for your dress," Cailan stalled. "Maybe…you should ask her?"

Megan paused for a moment. "You don't like Artemis, do you." It was a statement, not a question.

"Well, I don't think we'd ever be friends, but…I-I wouldn't say I don't like her…" Cailan hadn't fumbled over her words so much. "I guess it's hard when you're not liked by someone."

She felt she'd ended lamely but Megan gave her a soft, gentle smile.

It didn't really matter that Cailan didn't have a dress. She actually wasn't sure she was even going to be able to get one. She'd never been to a masquerade before, had no idea what kind of dress or costume was called for. The life of the rich and famous had never been within her grasp—not when she was old enough to understand it, at least.

"Any idea where we can get what we need to make the masks?"

"Yeah, I think I know a place," Cailan smiled, linking arms with the alien.

…

"How about this?" Megan asked, spinning around; as she did so a skirt billowed around her legs.

"Mmm…" Cailan made an indecisive remark as she examined the pink dress. It didn't look bad.

"What if you made it purple?"

Artemis sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Well…what are you wearing Artemis?" Cailan ventured, keeping her voice even.

"Tck." Artemis looked violently around the room. "Dunno," she said.

"Well, we know you look good in green," Megan laughed.

"Look, this isn't really my thing," Artemis said, her gaze following Conner as he walked down the hall.

Cailan followed her look and then went back to Megan who was still using her organic-morphing skills to adjust dresses. The different looks slid quickly over her and Cailan recognized the undercurrents of an affliction she knew all too well. Megan felt she needed someone to tell her she looked beautiful in these dresses.

"Megan, what do you want to wear?" Cailan blurted out, staring Megan down in the mirror as her hands smoothed the velvet-adorned mask in her hands.

"I think blue…" Megan said slowly, letting the skirt again shift. "And billowy, with princess sleeves…" the skirt became full and the sleeves puffed up around her shoulders in a soft pillow. Princess lines ran down the bust of her gown. "Maybe with white lace filigree…"

Her feet adjusted so that she now stood in kitten strap heels and a thin, gauze shawl wrapped her shoulders. She stood looking into the mirror and a smile spread over her face as she turned again. A sheer overlay came to be on the skirt of the gown that glittered like the shawl around her shoulders.

"Now all you need is a mask," Cailan said.

"You think it'll do?" Megan turned from the mirror.

"Babe, you're going to need Conner to beat guys away from you all night," the elder girl laughed, standing and swinging Megan around so that the dress twirled around the floor.

"Alright Artemis," Megan broke free from Cailan and turned to the blond. "Your turn."

"Look, this isn't really my thing," the girl said standing and inching towards the door, continually looking over her shoulder. "I think…I'm actually up for some training practice so…I'll catch you around."

"Megan…" Cali said after the blond had left. "I think…you and Conner need to tell everyone that you're together now. Artemis…is going to get hurt,"

"…maybe you're right,"

"Alright, why don't we get to work on these masks?" Cali adjusted the subject, turning her attention once again to their task. She was at a deadlock with no dress and no clue why she should even try to go to some high end gala event.

…

"Megan…I need your help," Cailan said, finally dropping the crafting and looking up to her friend.

"What?" the other tilted her head.

"I-I don't have a clue what I'm doing. I don't have a dress…my heart in fluttering out of my chest over this…_ball_. I—" She looked up again and started laughing nervously. "I think…I really like him,"

There was a flutter in her stomach as she said this; this girl-time was new and exciting.

"This is so romantic!" Megan said; Cali blushed.

"Let's…tackle the dress first…" she changed the subject. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Maybe…I can take you out?"

"heh, no money," she arched her brows and made an apologetic face.

"That is a problem." Megan thought a moment. "Tch, duh! Hello Megan!" her hand clapped to her forehead. "What about the money your parents left you?"

Cailan froze and swallowed hard. "Well, it's not under my control until I'm eighteen…and I can't use it unless…unless I go back to my family."

"Oh,"

"I'm sorry," Cailan shook her head and brought her school-hood smile to her face; Megan couldn't recognize it. "Anyways, let's get your mask made."

"Well, what about your dress? You can't very well go to the party in jeans,"

"Yeah," Cailan had half a mind to not go at all. She began chewing her lip again and began fussing over the feathers and glitter Megan had brought back from the shop Cailan had sent her to.

"You better not be thinking of not going to Mr. Wayne's ball," Megan said, looking up from her mask.

"What would make you think that?" Cailan tried to ask innocently.

"I'm reading your thoughts," Megan said calmly.

Cailan blushed deeply and resumed the masks.

Glancing around, Megan resumed girl talk when no boys were assessed to be near. "So, Kladur?"

Cailan's face was so red she felt the heat as if she were in front of a fire and coughed nervously. "Uh…" the thought that Megan was reading her mind right now made her even more flustered. "y-yeah…I guess. I guess I really do,"

"Oh we have to think of something! You've just got to go,"

"If I could get back to my apartment," Cailan said.

…

_3:43pm_

"Megan I do not think it is a good idea," Kaldur said, rolling his head and relaxing his shoulders.

"Please Kaldur. I'll be with her, and I can read minds remember? We can trust her."

His grey eyes searched her face. Was she being naïve? Was he? He had though he trusted Cailan but now, now with a test of that trust out in the open he felt he was failing. He took a deep breath and turned to the sea. He wasn't sure how long he spent watching the waves.

"If anything happens it'll be on my head M'gann." He turned back to her.

"Nothing will happen," M'gann brightened and floated on down the hall.

"What was that about?" Wally asked as he walked through the doorway, finishing off a bag of potato-chips and going to the fridge for an apple and yogurt-drink.

"Megan and Cailan are going shopping," Kaldur shrugged and turned back to the sea.

"So, excited to finally get into the Wayne party?" the younger boy asked through a mouthful of apple.

"I suppose. It will be an interesting event, in any case,"

"Wait, you'll be there as Aqualad the entire time, won't you?" Wally asked, suddenly picking up on the fact.

"Yes," Kaldur, hands behind his back.

"Dude! Do you know how lucky you are? Girls are going to be all over a hero!" Wally said, his hands thrown up in the air, the apple half eaten.

"Hm. I suppose so," Kaldur glanced at Wally and looked away again. Girls? No, he just wanted one.

…

_4:09pm _

"This is where you lived?" Megan asked as they walked through the window from the fire-escape.

"Yeah. Hey, Megan," she paused after stepping into the small apartment. "Can we push back the shopping a little bit, please? I want to do something for Ms. Ginsburg."

Cailan didn't wait for an answer and proceeded through the small apartment and down into the hall. Megan followed along slowly, watching the gentle footfalls of her friend in front of her. Cailan moved so gracefully she almost didn't even walk.

Knocking gently on the last door of the hall down the stairs at the bottom level Cailan turned the handle and walked in. "Ms. Ginsburg?"

Megan heard a scratchy, whispered reply. "I know, I know. It's been a really long time. I'm sorry about that. No, it is my fault. Here,"

Walking in Megan looked over the room across the darkness. Cailan was already in the kitchen; once the stove was on and the little food she'd found was in the pot cooking she walked around the apartment. Her hands weren't as graceful as her feet as she straightened and cleaned things; the first was the bed where the old woman lay most of the time. Then, oddly enough, Cailan went into the bathroom.

"_Cailan, what are you doing" _Megan hovered in the doorway, asking through her telepathy. She knew Cailan heard it because she gasped.

"_Uh…uh well, I have to help her as much as I can while I've got the chance. She doesn't have anyone else…"_

Unsure, Megan began helping here and there with her powers, always staying out of sight of the old woman.

"She likes stories," Cailan said over her shoulder as she resumed the dinner she was making.

So Megan stepped forward, changing her appearance to that of an earth girl. She wasn't sure why she was doing it, it was an uncomfortable situation, but at the same time it made her happy to help out. This was what being a hero was about.

Her stories were quick and incoherent, but the old woman was almost completely deaf anyways.

It was almost five thirty when they'd fed her and called in orders for the next month so she'd have food and a bit of care.

…

_5:28pm_

"Thanks Megan," Cailan said as the two girls walked through the halls back to her apartment room. She stuffed some clothes into a duffel and rummaged around for a bit of money; there was a tin that Natalia had been putting change in that she'd found on the streets. There were the few bills she'd tacked to the fridge for food for the next couple of weeks. And then there was a little stash she'd saved up from before, when she was younger. She kept it hidden in the vent shaft; it was an insurance policy in case her plans had fallen apart and she and Natalia had gone on the run. Things had fallen apart…but she was far from running.

"Alright, let's go," she said, interrupting Megan's gush about how she enjoyed helping where she could.

"Right. Where to?" Megan asked.

"Em…there's a thrift store down the block or so,"

…

When they got there the two girls had a ball trying on different outfits. Cailan showed her what fun it was to put on clothes and different types of dress. They spent hours putting on outfits from years long past, and Megan got a quick lesson of history through the different era's clothes.

"This is wonderful! But," Megan tossed off the hat she'd been wearing. "we must remember we're here to find you a dress for the ball,"

"I'm not sure there's anything here," Cailan said, looking around with a grin on her face. So this was what it was to have a real, actual, true friend. The girls from her school had always acted behind her back, with undertone-comments that were meant as an insult more than a compliment.

"There must be something, what about those?" she said, pointing to wedding dresses.

Cailan laughed. "Well, I guess there's no harm in looking, right?"

"What about this one?" Megan asked, pulling an enormously ruffled dress with flowers running down the bodice.

The other girl paused and laughed, taking the skirt in her hands and pulling it out. She looked to Megan and shook her head, twirling away, letting the skirt be pulled with her so that the fabric billowed in the air. The two commenced to pull dresses haphazardly only to laugh and toss them aside.

"What are you looking for?" Megan asked. "How about pink?"

"Ehm…." Cali paused, thinking a moment. "Pink clashes horribly with my hair…wow that sounds so lame,"

"What do you mean it clashes?"

"Well…see, my hair is kinda…coppery-redish-brown," Cailan moved under the light. "And pink is a cousin of red…color wise; cousins clash,"

"Why'd you pick blue?" Cailan asked, stepping back to the rack of dresses.

"oh…uhm," Megan blushed. "It's the color of his eyes…" she said bashfully.

"That's adorable," Cailan giggled, pulling a dress from the rack and spinning with it before discarding it again moments later. "So, a princess for the ball eh? What's Artemis going as, and Wally?"

"Wally is going as Robin Hood, I think," Megan giggled. "I'm not sure about Artemis, she doesn't seem too enthusiastic about the whole idea…"

"And how about Conner?"

"Uh…he's not totally into the idea either, so I think he's just wearing a tux and mask. I think…I think he's worried about this party in regards to Superman…"

"Conner Kent…Clark Kent…I guess people at the party are going to notice, huh?"

"It worries him." Megan said, putting down a horrible looking bride's maid dress from thirty years ago. "How about Kaldur?"

"…He'll be the Count de Monte Cristo," Cailan let her hands slide over chiffon and silks. "I don't know if I should match him with another a character or not,"

As she spoke her hands drifted across a soft gauze. Megan began speaking but Cailan only half heard what the girl was saying. The gauze was the front of a dress-skirt that was layered, much like the cascades of a waterfall. The bodice was tight fitting, much like that of a dance leotard.

"Hey, Megan," Cailan said, interrupting. "What about this one?"

"Ohh…this is beautiful, is that silk?" Megan's fingers slid across the embroidered bodice and a little train down the back.

"It looks like it…but it must be a night gown or something, the skirt is totally see-through," Cailan said, more to herself.

"But the top isn't like a night gown at all; it's too fitted, and look how low-cut the back is."

"Yeah…" the sheerness of the dress lent it towards a negligee, but that's where Megan's view about the back came in. She was right: it was far too low cut to be simply worn to bed. "I think…it's a ballet costume,"

…

"Blue and black?" Cailan smiled and cocked her head to Megan.

"Yeah, the blue will pull out the color of the dress," the Martian said back.

Cailan was working with a Domino mask, black velvet with gunmetal-black designs worked onto it. The mask she held beaked slightly over the nose in detailing. Unsure how to make her own she looked again to Megan's mask and watched her add feathers and glitter. It looked like a real masquerade mask.

"What is Robin going as?" Cailan asked as she picked up some glitter and glue.

"I think he was going as the Phantom of the Opera," Megan giggled, "I admit that's pretty charming."

"I'm sure he'll pull it off well," Cailan began filling in the spaces around the eyes with glitter; grey and white glitter, with a pale-greyish blue and purple on the outside area of the mask. The gunmetal of the material of the mask shown through the glitter so that when it was turned in the light, the mask had a metallic sheen. Taking a silver-tulle and lining the outside rim of the mask. She set pale grey feathers behind it.

"That's beautiful!" Megan said, leaning over.

"Just taking my cue from yours; I've never really done this before," Cailan shrugged.

"Are you excited?" Cailan asked.

…

_Friday the 23__rd__ of December_

_3:00pm_

"C'mon princess," Artemis said as she walked through the door of Cailan's room, tossing a bag to her.

"What?"

"You and Robin are going to the Wayne mansion ahead of time. Get your stuff, you'll be taking the portal,"

"Did you find your dress?" Cailan sat up, trying again.

"…" the blond paused in the doorway, looking over her shoulder. "Yeah, I did."

"…alright…well?" Cailan led, trying for more details.

"Well, what?" Artemis turned and crossed her arms.

"What are you going as? It's a masquerade,"

"…I'mgoingasafairy." She muttered not meeting Cailan's eye.

"…what?"

"I'mgoingasafairy."

Cailan looked at the blond trying to go through what the blond had slurred.

"A fairy. I'm going as…a fairy. Alright?" Artemis growled, clenching her fists as she whipped around to stare at Cailan.

"Tinkerbell?"

"Excuse me?" the blond said, arching a brow.

Cailan smiled at her. "You'd make a good Tinkerbell."

"…c'mon, Dick won't wait forever."

"Be right there,"

…

"Wait, it's just us?" Cali asked as she walked into the transport room and saw only the boy-wonder standing in front of the opening.

"Yep, disappointed?" he had an impish grin.

"No! Just…surprised. What about the others?"

"They're reporting to their mentors," Dick said.

"And you?"

Dick didn't like the way she looked at him when she asked the question. It was one of those looks, the kind that accompanies questions that the asker already knows the answer to. She was smiling, looking innocent enough.

"Batman assigned me to look after you," he quipped, careful to keep his tone unsuspecting.

"Oh…that's right," she said. "I'm a pri—uh, protective custody."

"Yeah, and Speedy—er, Red Arrow wasn't on baby-sitting duty,"

"Oh, very funny!" Cali wrinkled her nose and tousled his hair.

"Haha, hey, his words, not mine." Robin pushed her hand away and gave a gentle tug on her own long hair.

"Alright," she tossed her head, her loosely braided hair flopping back over her shoulder. "Let's get this over with…"

"Sounds like your nervous," the boy laughed, typing in his crazy-fast manner onto a keyboard.

"A bit," she admitted, staring at the empty portal.

"Well, let's get going,"

…

"Hey Alfred," Dick said walking cheerfully though the hall. Cailan noticed he seemed at home.

"And this is Ms. Leal I presume," Alfred said with raised brows and a stoic face.

"Yep. Hey, I'm going to jet on to my room, would you mind…?"

"It would be my pleasure." Alfred said with a slight bow. "Ms. Leal, this way,"

Cailan held her breath as she walked down the enormous halls. Her steps echoed along on the tiles. The hall was grand, grander than she'd ever seen. The halls stretched on for eternities above her, much like a dance hall. There were portraits and paintings all along the oak-paneled walls, plants standing in great pots outside every room. The ceiling above her was arched and painted; her neck strained from looking up.

"Ms. Leal," Alfred stopped at the top of the stairs. "if you wouldn't mind waiting here for a moment,"

She didn't have a chance to answer before he'd started off down the stairs to see to the front door. She stared after him for a moment, and then took opportunity of his absence to look at the front hall. It was even grander than the hallway had been. It stretched tall and wide; she felt she could've fit all of her high school inside of it. The stairs looked like they were marble; all the wood was real oak, stained to a deep, rich color. Cailan wouldn't have been surprised if it were all hand polished and carved and painted.

The words that were being spoken at the front door were murmurs and muddled sounds. It all sounded important, the way the voices were hushed and echoed off of the vast walls. It made her shiver.

"You must be Cailan," the voice was calm and almost kind and it made her ears tingle.

"Yes," she answered, turning. "I…um…guess I'm waiting,"

Her smile was nervous as the man stood before her in a suit with his hands behind his back. His posture and attitude were familiar.

"Ah, well, let me show you around,"

Cailan blushed. "You mean you're…"

"Bruce Wayne," he said, extending his hand with a smile.

"Uh, thanks for…letting me stay here…" she said hesitantly; she didn't really know that she was.

"It's my pleasure to help out the league where I can. Now, while Alfred takes care of that caller, I'll show you to your room,"

He walked down the halls next to her, explaining his house and showing her the halls and the different rooms.

"This is where you'll be staying," he said, opening the room and giving a slight flourish with his smirk.

Bruce Wayne watched the young girl's eyes light up when she saw the room. It was nothing special, but it had three French windows that were cracked just a little, the sheer curtains fluttering and the sunlight pouring in. There was a modest bed in the middle of the room and a plush ran under the bed. The floors were a deep mahogany and there was a fireplace in the corner of the room.

He watched her drop her bag in the middle of the room and run over to the windows, pushing one open fully and staring out over the grounds. His mansion sat on a Cliffside, out in the distance was the ocean and she stared intently at that.

"Glad to see you'll be comfortable," he said kindly, not sure what his judgment of her was now.

"Thank you again…for letting me stay," she said, turning from the window.

He nodded and began to leave. "Oh, and dinner will be at seven," he said as an afterthought.

…

_6:53pm_

"So…what are we gonna do about my identity crisis?" Dick asked Bruce, swinging his legs from the counter.

"Hm. Well, you could always fake an illness." Bruce joked. "Or wear those tights around all this evening."

"Oh ha-ha." Dick laughed.

"She already knows about the others, at least, we can assume as much." Bruce mused, scratching his chin.

"…" Dick swallowed hard. He knew he should tell his own mentor about his suspicions, but he didn't want Batman to be disappointed in him. On the other hand, if he didn't say anything and they were compromised later…

"I think she's guessed that you're Batman," he blurted out, looking down the second he said so.

Bruce's brow furrowed but he nodded. "Clever girl,"

He relaxed his shoulders and walked sternly over to Dick; the young boy waited for a reprimand. Instead, Bruce tousled the kid's hair. "Alright Richard, let's greet our guest for dinner,"

…

_7:00pm_

"Hey Robin," Cailan caught herself from saying 'Dick'.

"Hiya Cailan, ready for dinner?" he said; his hair was slicked back and his clothes were very nice and high end. She shifted a little in her faded, thin jeans and stretched tank. Pulling the sleeves of her jacket until she held them firmly in her hands she tucked it around her.

"Yep, let's get going,"

She tried to keep her gaze from running all over the dining hall; it was so amazing. She heard Dick laughing but ignored it as they walked together towards the table. It was intimidating to be in such an immense, dim room, elegant as it was. There were two place settings at one side of the table, a third place set a ways down the table, at the head.

"So…do we eat on china plates with actual silver ware?" she smiled as she whispered to Dick.

He chuckled and led her to the table.

"Allow me," Bruce pulled a chair back for her. Dick arched his brow in speculation at the man, curious as to what his mentor was up to.

"T-thank you," she said, sitting.

Her stomach turned unsurely; she wasn't sure why she felt so ill at ease, but she did.

…

_9:30pm_

_**A/N:note, I honestly don't even think this really works but it makes for a good story.**_

"Alright, you two will have the run of the house until…later this evening," Bruce said, stopping into the study where the two were laughing over a nonsensical game of cards.

"Oh, this is gonna be fun," Dick chuckled behind Bruce's back.

He stood quickly and darted out of the room with his eerie war-laugh. Cailan looked after him for a moment, then put her own cards facedown knowing he must have some other scheme on his mind. She was right. Not too much later he came back with two long-headed brooms and a can of something.

"…we're going to wax the floors?" she asked, looking at him as if he were mad. He just laughed again.

"Trust me."

She stood and followed him outside to the main hall. For an hour they went around waxing the main hall, the stairs and the banisters. It was about ten thirty when Cailan finally tossed down the waxing broom and sat down.

"No more. I didn't realize this was a working vacation,"

"Quit messing around!" Dick chortled as he came over to her and pulled her to her feet. "Take off your shoes,"

"…huh?"

"Your shoes, take off your shoes." He ordered, taking his off and tossing them down the hall towards the front door.

Shaking her head she did as he said and slid off her beaten sneakers. "…okay, now what…?"

"Tch. What do you think?" he demanded, slouching his shoulders and rolling his eyes. "We're gonna slide,"

"You're insane," she giggled, shaking her head.

"No you just don't know how to have fun," he retorted, skating over to her.

Without warning he grabbed her hand and swung her around. She went flying along the tiles, spinning in a circle around Dick until he let go. She gave a little yelp and then skid along the floor, trying to keep her unsteady balance.

"C'mon, you're a dancer, shouldn't you be able to skate right?" he teased her, easily maneuvering around the floor.

"Not like this ya little twerp," she laughed, trying to steady herself. Her green eyes flashed with dangerous determination.

He darted around her this way and that, giving her little pushes and tugs on her hair. He laughed when she'd fall and helped her up again. But she quickly got the hang of things, learning how to stand and then to move. They began playing a two-person game of tag.

"Nonono," she laughed, darting away. "Hey, hang on a sec!"

She skittered over to the living room where there was a radio and put on some tunes. "We played your game, now we'll play mine," she giggled.

"No, no I don't—"

"Ya do now!"

_12:09pm_

"Master Richard," Alfred said, his face still straight. "I think that is enough for the evening. There will be a long evening for the two of you tomorrow."

"…eh, yeah…I guess you're right ol'man," Dick laughed.

He helped Cailan to her feet as Alfred retrieved their shoes. "Good night, Master Richard, Miss Leal,"

…

_Saturday, Christmas Eve_

_2:56pm_

Cailan pulled her costume from the bag she had. There were workers—they'd been there since just past noon—who were working outside and inside. The house had turned into a literal winter-wonderland. There was fake snow everywhere, the crystal glasses were frosted over to look like ice; the windows were done up there was a great tree in the main hall that was decorated with bobbles, ornaments, and garlands, and more crystal ice cycles.

The party was due to start, but not until seven. She didn't think it'd take her four hours to get ready. But she didn't dare leave her room. The hub-bub outside meant that there was a lot of thought, planning and a lot of money. She didn't want to get in the way of—

"Hey," Dick made her jump. "What'cha up to?"

"dunno…kinda just waiting around," she said honestly.

"Yeah, the others are all busy getting assignments, learning the rotations, posts…important stuff like that."

"…well…movie?"

"Eh, we could pull pranks on those guys out there," Dick said as he strode to the window.

"…the great _hero_ play tricks? Tsk, tsk, tsk," she teased quietly.

"Hey now, kid's gotta get his kicks," he winked back at her.

…

_5:29pm_

"Haha, Ahh—uff!" Dick laughed out a war-cry, aiming a snow-ball to where he'd last seen Cailan before he ducked behind the trees.

He took one in the face before it left his hand. He heard the girl whoop with delight; her aim was less than impeccable. Then again, he was highly trained in the art of fighting and dodging projectiles.

"Wait, let's end on a good note and go back inside before I freeze!" Cailan laughed as she ducked behind a corner of the decorative wall at the side of the house where they were battling.

"No way! I've gotta get you back now," he teased, crouching to make a rush for the bush slightly closer to her own hiding place.

"No! It's cold and we've been out here for hours!" She squealed, seeing his lunge and dodging around a statue on the terrace.

"We have not, it's only—"

"Master Richard," Alfred peered his head around the door, a snowball from Dick just missing his face.

"Oops, sorry Alfred," Dick laughed.

"Quite. Young sir, it is half past five. Would you and the young Miss like a cup of cocoa before you get ready for Master Wayne's party?"

"That would be wonderful," Cailan laughed as she inched out from behind her hiding spot.

"Tch. That's cheating!" Dick said, standing from his own hiding spot, his hands on his hips as he argued.

"Gotcha!" she yelled, shooting a brilliant aim for the middle of his chest. It missed the middle of his chest, her aim ruined by his well-trained reflexes. Her throw grazed his shoulder just a little, spreading a white dusting over the black pea-coat.

"That's totally cheating!" he yelled, spinning and ducking down to scoop snow into a hurried missile.

"I so gottcha!" she said as she darted around him and rushed for the door that Alfred held open docilely, standing back.

"Alfred!" The young boy yelled in disbelief.

Alfred shrugged and stood there a moment longer, waiting for the young charge. Throwing the snowball down forcefully Dick sulked his way through the door kicking snow as he went.

…

_6:03pm_

Cailan wiped the fog from the mirror. There was her hot-cocoa, still steaming on the counter of the sink. She had her own bathroom in this mansion. She was still used to bathing in the girls' locker room at school; having a porcelain shower with a removable fixture, decent supply of hot water and a fuzzy bathrobe with a plush carpet were so new to her. She picked up the mug after tying up the robe. It was delicious enough to make her close her eyes and just stand there for a moment, letting the taste linger in her mouth as long as she could.

She finished the mug of cocoa as she dried her hair; the blow-dryer was a commodity that she'd never had before; her hair was silky smooth. And the bathroom here was better stalked with feminine supplies than her products in the apartment had been. She knew they'd been purchased just for her; they were all still in their wrappings, and there was a computer-printed note stating that different products could be found under the sink if the ones in the cabinet weren't satisfactory.

She recognized the brands from the store; they were the brands she'd look at when she was having a good day, the ones she'd pretend she could afford. The brands Mr. Wayne had provided her with were the brands she pretended she'd have had if her parents had still been alive.

The shampoo had left her hair as pure as down, the conditioner made her hair silk, and the leave in stuff that went with the other bottles made her feel like her hair was made of the clouds. Her skin felt like velvet after the body-wash and the lotion—despite having never waxed, only shaved—she was still startled that waxing didn't hurt like it should have. She'd never felt more pampered.

_Well, that's a lie,_ she thought to herself as she sat down on the bed. _Mom made you feel better than anything when she'd brush your hair after a bath. _

She shook her head, her locks falling over her shoulder. Taking up a brush she set about doing her hair and makeup before putting on her dress.

…

_6:16pm _

"How can she seriously still be getting ready?" Dick demanded as he paced around Bruce.

The older man laughed. "Women go to more trouble than we do Dick,"

"Tch. Waste of time if you ask me," the boy grumbled, crossing his arms. He was bored. He wanted someone to joke with once the guests started getting here; he'd never had a sibling and it got lonely being in Wayne manner, greeting the guests as the only kid around.

"Don't worry, she'll be ready. Women are always ready in time to make a grand appearance." Bruce reassured, walking back towards where Alfred was inspecting the crystal glasses and making sure the wine was the proper age.

"Hmph."

…

_6:34pm_

Her hair had taken longer than she'd thought. Then again, she was going off of pure memory and it'd been ages since she saw the picture. She dumped her cosmetic bag on the vanity and watched her things scatter; there were Royalty Brushes in the bathroom but she felt she'd been greedy in using the other products.

_He bought them for you to use Cali._ She argued with herself, setting up the pallet she wanted for this outfit. She'd had experience with makeup; she'd toyed with the idea of being a professional makeup artist a while back, just in case dancing didn't work out. _Maybe they weren't for you. Maybe they're for the girls he brings home. Like they'll notice you used some? All Mr. Wayne would have to do is get rid of the opened ones. Go on, they're there for you to use. _

She glanced in the mirror, then at the clock. Better brushes and applicators meant a better finish. Her makeup would look better if she used them. _He's not going to mind. _

She jumped at the knock on the door.

"Miss Leal, would you like some more cocoa?" she heard Alfred's muffled voice on the other end of the door.

"Uh, n-no, thanks," she said, raising off the stool a little, unsure if she should go to the door or not.

"Very well. Are you finding the products Mr. Wayne procured for you to your satisfaction?" he asked calmly and not in the least upset by her speaking through the door.

"Yes, yes, I am. Will…you thank him for me?" she stammered out, fighting a blush despite no one could see her.

_Told you so stupid._

"Very well Miss," she heard him walk away.

…

The brushes were like air against her skin. She felt a little rushed, but it was like every other 'formal' thing she'd been to. She'd been the same for every dance, it wasn't a big deal.

_No, it isn't the same. This time you're with someone you actually like._

…

_6:56pm_

"Bout time," Dick said, hearing Cailan call his name quietly from down the hall. He turned and his jaw dropped.

When she got closer he whistled impishly, grinning from ear to ear as he leaned back to look at her.

"Oh," she gave him a playful shove and hoped he couldn't see her blush under her blush.

"Ah, Cailan. You're just in time," Bruce said, smiling gently. "Now, don't be alarmed. The League's first round of guards came in about an hour ago and started patrolling the grounds and a general guard detail. The guests are to do start arriving; you're free to wear your mask now or put it on later.

"If you wouldn't mind, would you great the guests with Dick as they come to you?"

She nodded, unsure she trusted her voice to speak.

...

_7:15pm_

Dick had donned his mask already, his costume complete and his ornery grin in place. Seeing Mr. Wayne put his on as well, Cailan quickly covered her own face; the black slivers of bead slid side to side over her cheeks.

"Megan you look amazing," she breathed as Megan and her uncle—looking like normal humans—came up to them.

"I was about to say the same! Who all's here?"

"Wally just got here, looks like," she giggled as she looked over Megan's shoulder. "S—er, Conner arrived not too long after the doors opened, Artemis too. They walked in together. Kal hasn't showed up just yet.

"Anyways, Dick keeps disappearing…which is kind of weird because we're supposed to greet people _together," _she hissed over her shoulder, hoping to catch the boy wonder's ear. "He's flirting."

Megan giggled. "Who'd have thought he was such a lady's man? Just like—"

"Hello ladies," Wally said suavely as he sauntered up in his own costume, his mask set carefully and handsomely in place.

"Hey Wally," they said together, their voices sounding harmonized in their giggles.

"So, up for a dance?" He asked Megan.

"Wally, you're so silly. There isn't any music yet!"

"There's dinner first; there's only going to be a light stringed performance for us during dinner."

"…geez, you the planner or just a second adoptee?" Wally teased, his arching brow just visible now over his mask.

Calain was glad for her mask. "Well, Dick left me on my own, I hadda figure things out,"

"Oh, keep the dress on, I'm back," The boy grumbled good-naturedly. "Sup Wally,"

"Man you two look great," Wally said looking back and forth from one crush to the other.

Megan was a princess; the only thing missing was a tiara. Cailan, well, she looked regal, but by no means a princess.

"Hey, why don't you guys go catch up with Artemis and Conner," Cali intercepted, nodding over towards where the two stood with another, slightly older, guy.

…


	17. The Mist In The Air

_**Part 2**_

_7:30pm_

"Attention, favored guests of the annual Wayne Charity Ball," Bruce said grandiosely, his voice rich as it carried jovially though out the hall and ballroom of his home. "If you would all be so kind as to join me in the dining hall, we'll have dinner."

There was slight applause and a stringed band resumed, louder than before with slightly more lively music, fit for chitchat and talking, the background setting for the clink of silver on china and crystal on teeth.

"Allow me," Cailan looked over her shoulder to see a white and gold mask, filigree decorating the outer edges of it. The nose was slightly long, beaking over a bit. It was in the shape of a Domino mask, except for the beaked nose.

"Uh, thank you," she said, sitting softly on the chair he'd pulled out for her.

"My pleasure," he gave a little bow; he was in a rich crimson shirt-waist with white and gold detailing. His outfit was every bit a Renaissance costume, the pantaloons and boots all in place. He wouldn't have been different from most of the other party-goers, except that his own clothes were of such regality that he almost looked like he'd come straight from the Renaissance.

She couldn't place him, though he was familiar and she was sure she knew him from somewhere. Nodding in thanks to him again she looked around the table. Dick had taken a protective seat not too far from her; Wally was sitting between Artemis and Megan. As she looked around the table, Conner was sitting with—

_Kaldur. He looks handsome. _

"You're not used to these kinds of things are you?" the young man who'd pulled out her chair asked with a good-natured sneer.

"No, I'm not," she said honestly, looking on at the many servers bringing trays that were covered and steaming with plates for all the guests. "But, I take it you are?" she returned her gaze to him, returning the question.

His smirk spread to a smile. "Nice observation," the young man reclined, putting his body towards her, his arm over the back of the chair. "How'ya liking it?"

There was something casual and daring about him, like he was constantly egging her on in all he said. _Why is that so familiar?_

"From what I've experienced so far, it's been pretty wonderful,"

He made a neutral 'mhm' sound and looked back to the table where his dinner had appeared before him. The waiter's hand was just coming around offering champagne. He caught the bottle and thanked the waiter with a 'that wont' be necessary'.

"No thank you, please," Cailan said just as the bottle was brought to the rim of her glass. "Water for me as well,"

"You don't look underage," the young man in crimson commented.

"How do you know that I am?" she asked back, letting the waiter settle a napkin on her lap with a docile gaze to him.

"Most people wouldn't refuse champagne in these circles," he shrugged calmly.

"Yet you did,"

"I am underage," he shot back at her pleasantly, their voices dropping as someone was giving a toast down the table; his eyebrows rose in that same challenge he continually spoke to her in. "So, naturally I—"

"Naturally, you assumed that I too am underage," she said. "You know what it is to assume, right?" she questioned with a coy smile as she lifted her glass of water in unison with him to the toast.

"…my hope was that I hadn't made that mistake," he quipped back playfully.

"Oh, no need to worry. You didn't. This time you were right," her face held a slight smile, sly as her glossed lips pulled up softly at the corners.

She was rather pleased to see a short look of surprise cross through his eyes; his face—what she could see under his mask—wasn't smiling cockily now either.

"Touché,"

…

"Before we begin, I would like to purpose a toast," Bruce said, standing up. "We all came here tonight to donate money and funds to the many charities that Wayne Company has created over the years since my father created it. And just the same we know that, while we are doing a service to those in great need, I must admit we are still here for our own ends: after all, what could be better than drinking free booze with a pretty woman on your arm and everyone laughing at your jokes, am I right?"

"Is that Roy sitting with Cailan?" Kaldur whispered, nearly inaudible to Conner; he knew the super-boy's ears would hear it.

"Seems like it," the other boy murmured back. "Why?"

Kaldur shook his head.

The dining hall tittered with pleasant laughter at his joke. "Now, before I bore you further, let me extend our many thanks to the ones who look after us tonight, and many thanks to my esteemed guests. None of this is possible without your efforts,"

A round of applause went on around the table for a minute.

"And now, let's eat!" Bruce said with a smile on his face.

"It is more comforting to see her with a friend, that is all," Kaldur smiled, glancing back to the girl. He couldn't deny that there was something stirring in him nonetheless.

"Looks as though we've been split up evenly around the table," Conner noted quietly as he began eating his meal, his eyes continuing to dart over to Megan all the while.

…

_8:47pm_

"Now that we're all happy and fed, would you care to join me for entertainment and dancing in the main hall?" Bruce said as he stood; Alfred struck up the order for music to be played. It was more up-beat but slower, beginning with older waltzes and Christmas music for the older audience who was in attendance to dance to while the night was young.

"Care to dance?" Cailan's new found companion asked as he stood, again pulling her chair for her and offering her his hand.

"Uhm," she cast a glance around the table and saw that Kaldur was busy talking with a man in a king's costume ('_Auqaman?' she thought)_ and though he looked to her he was unable to make any move towards her.

'_so much for going with him…'_ she sighed to herself.

"If you think you're a worthy dance partner," she teased, accepting his hand and standing.

"My, my, you're full of challenges," he said, taking her on his arm towards the main hall.

…

"Aqualad," Auquaman said, taking his student firmly by the shoulder. "Do not worry, I believe that Red Arrow is to…look over her when you and the other's are on duty,"

"Yes, my King," Kaldur agreed, returning his eyes to his mentor.

"There's been some concern regarding…"

Kaldur listened but almost by osmosis. He knew that his Lord was giving him invaluable advice on leading his team, especially in this divided sense for the party, as they were working fully with the League, though unbeknownst to the party-goers.

Cailan was supposed to be his date; he hadn't realized it was problematic until he realized they wouldn't actually be attending together. Now Roy was assigned to look after her.

…

"So, how am I doing so far?" the man she was with asked furtively, his lips curled unevenly.

"Not bad," her tone was even and he couldn't read if there was a 'but not good either,' attached.

"It looks like we're getting some attention," he said, letting his gaze shift around; he felt her body tense.

The way he looked around the room told her that he didn't mean they were being watched because they made a good pair. That was possibly more nerve-wrecking than having people stare at you in anticipation of a great performance you weren't sure you could deliver. She was used to expectations.

"Doin' alright?" he asked her evenly, his attention brought back to her.

"Yes, did I step on your foot?" her tease fell a little flat.

"No, I'd be extremely concerned if you'd done that," he said.

"So tell me, _Sir,_ when was it that we met?"

"What would make you say we had?" his voice was light and he added a laugh to his voice, but she felt like he was covering.

"Then we haven't,"

She was leading him. His eyes narrowed at the challenge.

"Maybe we have…should I know you?" he tried turning it around on her.

"Oh, something tells me you know me. Your question should be mine,"

He only laughed and spun them around, just up a beat from the song that was playing from the band. "You are a clever girl,"

…

"What a delightful song," a man in an elaborate mask said as he walked by. "My you two looked wonderful out there,"

Following her partner's slight bow, Cailan gave a dainty curtsey and walked towards the refreshments table to speak with him. Cailan felt a slight rush doing so; there was something almost conspiratorial about it.

'_Maybe it's because I know the League is here? No, not that. The other party goers are aware of the 'security' of this place, that's for sure. Then why…does it feel like I'm in on something?'_

Her dance partner placed a hand on the small of her back—respectfully placed; she knew that sign. It was a 'watch out' signal to the other men in the room. She was used to it from dancing; two partners had to look after each other, and it just happened that it was the lead's job to keep her safe.

'…_keep me safe…'_

"Oh! Robert is this that lovely little thing we watched on the dance floor? My, you're such a lovely thing. Wherever did you learn to dace like that child?"

Cailan felt the praise fall on her shoulders heavily. "Uhm, my parents, Ma'am."

"Marvelous, not many kids these days know how to dance. Not like what they're doing out on that dance floor, moving like that." The man—Robert—grumbled. Her dance partner suppressed a chuckle with a slight cough.

"Well, really, it's all up to the lead," she said, coquettishly, purposefully shoving the man she was with under the spotlight.

"Quite right! Now m'boy, you are a fine gentleman to be sure," Cailan excused herself to get a drink to keep from laughing at her partner's sudden fluster.

…

"That wasn't very nice," the man said after a few minutes, meeting her by the drink table.

"Mm…no. But it was funny." She handed him a drink. "So what do I call you? I know we've met."

"…heh, call me Roy."

"That like Cher?" she teased, leaning back and stepping towards the windows.

"Don't stand too close to the windows," his voice was gruff and hushed as his hand wrapped around her arm and pulled her off towards the corner of the room, closer to the Christmas tree.

' _"Hey!" the guy growled, grabbing her arms and giving her a rough shake. "Calm. Down." She remembered the guy saying; it'd been one of the super heroes…'_

"Red Arrow," she breathed out, little more than a little gasp of air.

"Hn, you really are smart kid," he smiled down at her. "Sorry,"

He let go of her arm; he hadn't realized he'd held her arm that hard. "It's dangerous for you to be near the windows."

"…then you are here like a bodyguard," she tried to keep the playful façade up.

"Something like that," he nodded to a group passing by, more comments on masks, dancing skills.

"So you're Roy," she allowed herself to be lead back out onto the floor.

"Figured you knew enough already, one more name wouldn't hurt."

"Then you trust me?" she couldn't keep the surprise from her voice.

"…more like I trust our ability to keep you from the wrong hands." There was the gruffness she remembered from that night.

"Oh." She hadn't really thought of herself being in danger before. "I guess that's why no windows…huh? But…no one knows that I…"

"We can't be sure of that."

"I think I liked it better before I knew who you were," she smiled at him and her voice was soft and sweet.

He swallowed. "Really? And why was that?"

"Because even if you were suspicious of me I didn't know it. Heh, but I guess ignorance is bliss,"

"Willful ignorance is surrendering control," he said, they were slowly moving along the dance floor.

"Why do you feel you need to be in control?" he could hear the honest question on her voice.

…

_9:23pm_

"Roy," the dancing pair paused at the tap on Roy's shoulder.

"Kaldur!" Cailan brightened.

"No need to ask to cut in man," Roy said, placing a hand on Kaldur's shoulder.

"Unless of course you mind Cailan," Kaldur said softly once Roy had gone.

"Kaldur don't be silly." She smiled and stepped closer, waiting for Kaldru's move. "Should I—"

"No, Kaldur is fine. I am Aqualad, Aquaman my king. I do not need to hide that fact like many surface-heroes do." He said as he took her hand and led her back to the dance floor.

"I didn't know you could dance," she said, trying to find things to say from nerves.

"…well, I have had about an hour's worth of watch experience," he smiled at her.

…

'_I didn't realize he was so tall…'_ Cailan looked up at him, then seeing him watching her through his mask she found a spot on his shoulder to look at instead.

"How are you liking the party?" Kaldur asked as he stepped back, his movements a little slower than the music's beat.

"It's beautiful. Kind of like it's out of a fairy tale. But it's gotten better with a friend,"

"Roy is a friend too Cailan. He would not let harm come to you,"

"That doesn't make a friend Kaldur. He doesn't trust me…I don't even think he likes me." she said, forcing a little laugh as they spun.

Kaldur was relaxing a little with her now that she was in his arms—so to speak. She followed anything he did; to the point it was almost like she was leading him in leading her. It wasn't so hard to dance.

"Roy has much anger and resentment. But he is very protective of us," Kaldur glanced over his shoulder to see Roy looking at them, casually from within a group of other standers-by. "He is just worried that through you, harm will come to us."

"I know it isn't like I can predict the future or anything…and that I'm not...not like you and the others or anything, but, Kaldur," she looked back at him. "You guys won't ever be in trouble because of me." she smiled and added a laugh, but Kaldur felt the edge of her words and the sudden heaviness they left.

"So, _Count,_ I'd say you're a very good dancer," she was joking a moment later, letting him sweep her back around again.

"I would say that is a very generous statement, to come from an actual dancer," he smiled back at her. "Cailan,"

"Hm?" she adjusted when he stopped; her body moving closer to his. It was a sly move in dancing, to get the partners closer together the lead stopped moving for half a beat while the follow continued on her path towards him.

He secured his arms around her in a danceable embrace. "You look very stunning tonight. You are receiving many looks,"

Stunning; it was such a romanticized word. _"Hot, sexy, fine," _those were words she was used to. They were words she'd realized she hated too.

"Then I guess we must make a perfect pair," she said, feeling stupid.

"And why is that?" he seemed a little surprised at her response.

"Because all through dinner I couldn't stop thinking 'he looks handsome.'"

Kaldur almost stopped dancing he was so taken aback.

"What's wrong?" she giggled, pulling back just slightly to get them moving again.

"Surface girls are…more forward than I am used to…"

"I'm sorry," she felt her face get hot in a rush, felt her cheeks burn.

"Cailan, I did not say it was a bad thing," he tilted her face back up to look at him, then took her hand in his again.

"It doesn't seem to be much of a good one either; I always get myself into trouble that way," she laughed it off; Kaldur realized she was trying to keep things shallow, trying to keep feelings at bay.

"Cailan, that story you told the other night after dinner," Kaldur said, leading up.

"…the music's stopping…" she interrupted, looking around at the halting couples.

A modern rendition of Bach's _Bourree II_ began and the couples took up laughing and reverting to older types of dance. The classics, as they were known, were seen on the great dance floor by the Wayne-guests.

…

"_Wow…Artemis?"_ Wally had asked at dinner in disbelief. She'd glowered at him in response and refused to talk to him most of dinner.

"Uh…ya wanna dance?" Wally asked her as he walked up to her side, tilting his head in an amiable way.

"It's not really my thing." She said to him with a glance; she also didn't want to be dancing around next to Cailan.

"Oh. Yeah." He nodded and stood. He wasn't usually so…dull with girls. _Wait, what the heck am I thinking!? What was that supposed to mean, it's Artemis!"_

They watched the dancers, as the music sifted into Bach's _Rondea. _

"Cailan and Kaldur sure look pretty good out there don't they?" Wally asked innocently, whistling a little at the gliding couple.

"Hey were did Conner and Megan get to?" she asked to change the subject.

"Oh, uhm, I thought I saw them over by the drinks a while back," Wally said, meaning to lead her over there.

"Oh. That's fine. I've got to get back…_back_ anyways, my times up. See ya around Wally,"

She left him looking after her; he liked how she walked in the low heels, it made the skirt of her costume flutter. He shook his head. _GAh! What are you _thinking_?! You're insane, get a grip. Look, there are some girls over there, to talk with them!_

He was dazed a little as he made his way towards the stairs to talk with some slightly younger girls who were waiting around for something interesting and gushing over the handsome older guys.

…

"Cailan, the story—if I may bring back my previous question…?" he took her following silence to be an affirmative to go ahead and speak.

"Your story of the girl and boy, by the ocean…?"

"Yes?" she asked, letting her gaze drift off over his shoulder, over hers, around the room. He felt slightly annoyed at her aloof-attitude.

He whisked her around, catching her off guard and not only forcing her to look directly at him but also, as a bonus, to cling to him. He watched her look of surprise go to a jumping-jaw and narrowed eyes.

"You said that was false," he kept his tone even and smiled at her, still letting his questioning draw itself out and linger.

"I did? I don't really remember," she said with a wistful voice, almost plaintively.

_She's lying._

"Yes. In fact you admitted to receiving a very compromising letter as fact instead." He said, his smile sliding.

"Then it must have been true," _Great, she is appeasing me now,_ Kaldur thought as she said this.

"I do not believe it is. I think that you told us two lies, one being the story of the letter, and the next was your admitting to the lie being true." He pulled her towards him, then they stepped back, swirled neatly out of the way of another couple; he felt almost suffocated in the throng of people—maybe from dancing, or from all the heady smells?

"Kal…" she said softly, sighing; she sounded so faint.

"I think your story about the little boy by the ocean was the true one Cailan." He continued on.

"I don't like to think about it." Her voice was a near whisper but it was firm and unyielding.

"It sounded like a good memory," he said, his voice gentle but neutral to hide his slight disappointment.

"It is…but…it's not…" she shook her head. "Can we talk about something else?"

His heart caught on the catch in her voice. "Please, do not let me upset you. I am sorry, I should not have—"

"You didn't upset me Kaldur," her smile, though small, was back. "It's just…"

They stopped. The music was gone now, and they were surrounded by long-stilled dancers. She didn't like the smiles; it led to a chortling applause. Cailan's hand tightened around his and she took a step back, with a flourished and hurried curtsy and proceeded to pull him into the host of people. She didn't want to be in the spotlight tonight. They were private.

"We can stop running now," Kaldur tried to hide his laugh.

Cailan gave a deep sigh and settled into the wall of the staircase, at the back of the party away from almost everyone.

"Am I that obvious?" she asked, looking up and looking down again.

"…yes, I believe you are," he continued to tease her. "But I feel the same could be said of me, could it not?"

"Then…" he saw her take a deep breath and wondered why her eyes were now locked onto his—not that he minded, "why haven't you kissed me yet?"

He opened his mouth to reply and then realized what she'd said and closed it again. He felt himself stiffen, opened his mouth only to close it a second time. His face was growing hot; he felt his hands get sweaty. Surface girls were _very_ forward. He felt his posture revert to soldier-mode and his jaw clenched together so he could think over his words before he said them.

"There you two are," Conner said, leaning around the banister, making them both jump. "Been looking everywhere for you,"

"Conner," Kaldur managed to say; thankful for the interruption.

"Yeah, look you and me need to go talk with, uh, _Bruce._ Said he had a favor to ask." The tone of his voice indicated that it was something to do with a mission, or the security. Kaldur found the grandfather clock in the hall; it was only ten fifteen. He wouldn't be on shift until later that night.

"Of course," Kaldur eased into his role as leader. "We need to find Megan or Wally to accompany Cailan, or Dick if you have seen him,"

"Hm…Megan's busy with her uncle. But Roy's right over there," Conner jerked his chin to where the elder boy stood talking with some senators and other high-ups; he seemed to fit right in.

"Right. Conner, I'll be there momentarily. "Cailan," he offered his arm stiffly.

"Catch'ya later Conner," she smiled and gave a little wave; it was almost impossible to tell with her that something had happened between her and Kaldur.

…

"Excuse us," Kaldur said as he led Cailan to the group. It was not long before they were immersed into a conversation; about how great he heroes were, about the crime, about the charity. The old men seemed to be willing to talk about anything, and the slightly younger women on their arms or the wives at their sides were not wont to throw their two cents in, causing a great argument on ever subject, it seemed.

"I must excuse myself, pardon me," Kaldur said quietly, knowing if he wasn't heard no one would even notice his absence.

"Guess you're stuck with me again," Roy snickered good naturedly.

"I could think of worse things," Cailan said evenly, giving a friendly smile; her voice betrayed that a friendly smile was as far as it went.

"Wait, young lady you were out there on the floor a moment ago, weren't you?" one of the women said, peering over her hand-held mask and squinting for lack of her glasses.

"Yes Ma'am."

"Oh my, but you are quiet a lovely dancer. And you're costume too! I'd say the swan princess, yes?"

"Margret, leave the girl alone," a man—her husband—said through laughter. To Cailan "Don't mind her young one, she's a busy body,"

"Charles! Now, as I was saying before my husband interrupted, you look lovely dear. Are you with the Gotham Theater? I could swear I've seen you on stage before now."

"Margret, she's dancing ballroom, not a ballet!" Charles said, a little more loudly than before but his voice made his smiling face all the more comical.

"Oh, hush. Am I right child?"

"Uh…actually, I'm still…in school," Cailan said, unsure how to answer.

"Don't be silly, you've got the skill and movement of a dancer. The Gotham Troupe then?"

"Margret I am telling you, let that poor girl alone!" Charles' robust voice chuckled out loudly.

"Well, we'll just have to talk to Bruce about this, I'm sure he'll have a remedy for it," Margret said, taking her glass and tossing her furs back around her neck, starting to walk towards the young millionaire.

"That's really not—" Cailan tried to put in hastily.

"You will do no such thing!" Charles growled out laughter as he followed his wife.

"Excuse us," Roy put a hand on her back and, apologizing to the crowd, swept her back towards a refreshment table. "Are you always in the spotlight?"

She couldn't tell if he was joking with or berating her and wasn't sure how to respond.

"I dunno…"

"Relax."

"It's hard to do; I can't tell if your distrust is causing you to mock me or if you're trying to make me comfortable,"

"…maybe it's a bit of both," he admitted, shrugging.

"Then how am I supposed to relax?"

"Look," he sighed, his voice getting a little rougher than before. "I don't hate you, okay?"

"You're protective of your friends. I get it." She said complacently.

"Yeah. I am."

"Are you…"

"I'm here if they need me," he said quickly, turning his eye back to her, not suspicious but rather curious as to how she made such a quick connection.

"Do…you think something might happen?" she asked quietly.

"You're…scared." He stated more out of surprise than accusation.

She shot him a look.

"If anything happens, it'll probably be from the Joker. He has trouble leaving Wayne enterprises alone; the Bat has always protected it fiercely. Now that Wayne Company has such a standing in supporting the League, with more heroes to annoy, the Joker has picked up his tenacity in causing problems. He also doesn't work well with others.

"That's good for us. The other villains, Luthor in particular, refuse to work with him because of his insanity. However, if they were to join with each other, or if a few were to 'attack' at the same time, we would need this extensive security."

"…but do you think they will?"

He paused and looked at her. With a resigned sigh: "I don't know. They're unpredictable, honestly. With so many important people here, and so many League members, it's a tossup between being a great idea for money, ransom or just eliminating their problems, and having to contend with the good guys."

"Oh, right,"

"Don't worry. We can assume no one knows you have information they want. Even if something happens they won't come after you."

"Wow, you really know how to reassure a girl," she said dryly, looking at him through skeptical eyes.

"Hey guys," Dick said waving happily as he walked towards them. He rather admired Roy.

"You look like you're having fun," Cailan said, smiling at him.

"Eh, I got used to this kinda thing ages ago," he let slip. "Uh, anyways, it's not that bad. Just humor a few adults, eat some cake and sneak a sip of champagne here and there." He winked at his own joke.

"Hey kid, stick with her, I've got some stuff to take care of," Roy said as he started off towards a group of adults; Black Canary had made an appearance.

"Tch. Kid my a—"

"He's just trying to prove to the League he's an adult," she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"…what do you mean?"

"He wasn't there to make the stand you guys did, when you first became a team. He 'quit', he walked away from his partner. His struggle is to make it out on top and be just as great, maybe greater, than his mentor. It's the right of passage for the path he took."

"…how old are you again?" Dick asked, crossing his arms.

"Seventeen going on eighty, it seems,"

"Oh Richard! There you are!" a very robust woman was waving frantically, her double chins jiggling with her long earrings.

"Quick, we're dancing!" Dick grabbed her hand and yanked her around towards the dance floor again.

…

_12:47am_

"Okay, I'm pretty sure that she's gone Dick, we can stop running all over the place now," Cali laughed.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I just really hate—"

"Dick? Where've you been?"

"Oh! Barbra, uh…hey… I was, uh,"

"Helping ditch a creeper. Thanks for letting me borrow him," Cailan pushed Dick into Barbra and stepped away before she had time to hear anything more.

She walked away, glancing around at the party, looking for something to keep her occupied. She felt like she was in a production, walking around in slippered feet like she was, all the masks and laughter, the music in the background. It was like being on a real stage performing a world renowned ballet. Except, that the only dancing was structured waltzes or the lindyhop, and everyone was most definitely not a ballet dancer. Still, it was very fairy-tale esc as she looked around. Bruce Wayne spared no detail in making his home a winter sanctuary for his party-guests.

Eventually she wandered around to the donations board. It was a grand display of pictures and letters and a very large glass jar of money and checks. There were countless smiling faces and certificates. She looked on, seeing villages in third world countries had been rebuilt, relief efforts, medicine advancements, animal cruelty; one story in particular she recognized.

_Dear Wayne. Corp,_

_Thank you very much for supporting Ms. Gracie's halfway house on tenth. Without it, I don't know where I'd go. Because of your donation, I can not only stay here and have food, but I might also be able to take lessons again. _

The letter continued on for a few more lines. The structure was very base that of a child's, while there were some words thrown in that meant it was undoubtedly dictated by an adult and written in a child's hand. Most of the time she looked at letters like this and thought they were fake. This one had validation only because she was the one who had written it five years ago.

"It's pretty amazing what people can do when they get together and put their minds to it." A man said behind her.

Cailan agreed, her eyes still lingering over the board and the pictures. "Yes, sometimes I wonder how it's possible for so much good to happen in the simplest of ways. "

"I suppose the spirit of Christmas helps," the man offered.

"Maybe," she smiled and looked again at a little girl's smiling face; she was hugging a goat like she'd found her new best friend.

"You know, I've had several people come up and tell me what a phenomenal dancer you are. They've even been requesting on your behalf that I set you up in an institution to start your career,"

The man watched she smile sweep from her face as she turned to him with a shocked expression. "I'm sorry, I hope—Mr. Wayne?"

He smiled down at her. "I have it on very good authority you're somewhat of a prodigy."

"N-no…nothing like that. I just love it, that's all."

He nodded and sipped away the last of his drink while looking at the pictures on the board.

"Look, I need to put on a show, and I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to be walking around without an escort, right?" he said, turning back to her with a peculiar smile she couldn't quite place. It seemed, honest, yet, faked, as if it were once true and now was only an empty shell to appease others.

"Uh, yes, I suppose so,"

"Good. Then, would you mind making another appearance on the dance floor?"

Taken aback she agreed without thinking. Never in her life had things been so awkward. First the fiasco with Kaldur, then all the run-arounds with Roy, her friends not trusting her, now Bruce Wayne—who she had very strong suspicions about—the millionaire bachelor was asking her for a dance. If she hadn't wanted the spotlight before, she was nearly dying to stay away from it now.

His hand was warm over hers. She looked up at the masked face and settled into following mindlessly. He asked her a few questions which she found herself answering before she had time to think about answering. Sometimes she felt unaccountably stupid after saying something and she'd stutter out a question for him. How were you supposed to talk with a famous person?

But it was more than that. He was roughly six foot with broad shoulders a stern but kind face, a solid jaw line and a calming smile. Every time she looked up she saw brown eyes and sandy hair; she saw a barrel chest covered with flannel, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. Cailan saw brown-haired arms, big and strong, and felt calloused hands on her own. She fancied she could even smell Old Spice aftershave and dirt and, maybe, even a hint of onions.

Her chest hurt.

…

_1:08am_

Her face felt like it was on fire. The applause seemed grueling. She felt like the people who knew her were looking on her as an attention whore and the people who didn't thought she was some stuck up brat. This wasn't the case at all, or close to it and on a deeper level she knew that. People were rarely as base as one supposed.

Stepping away from Mr. Wayne she put a hand over her stomach. She didn't feel well. Her chest felt like it'd been crushed, her body was hot, the tights she was in were irritating on her legs. Her head was buzzing.

"Thank you very much for the dance Mr. Wayne," she said curtseying quickly and trying to remember how to breathe. "Please, excuse me,"

Before anyone could follow she disappeared into the crowd of people. It was easy for her to do. She was small and vanished quickly. It was almost a worse mistake. The heat of her body increased among all of these other bodies, her head became confused and disoriented from the garbled snatches of conversations she heard and the drone of the music. Her clothes—she hated this dress, hated this mask. It was like they were attacking her body.

_Panic attack. You're having a panic attack. You can't breathe, you can't think. Just relax. Get to a free space, breathe, cool off, calm down. You're fine Cali, you're fine. _

She guided herself through what she needed to do and made a quiet escape into an adjacent room, through a door just outside the hall. The walls of the old mansion were thick; the second she walked into the library the chatter became all but a whisper, and the music was a fading memory. It was cooler, she fancied, in the library. She took in deep gasping breaths of air, tearing off her mask and dropping it to the ground as she cowered in a corner to support herself. Maybe she was just tired. She hadn't been sleeping well at Mount Justice.

_That's not it and you know it Cali,_ she thought irately. No, she knew exactly what it had been.

Dancing with Mr. Wayne had reminded her of when her own father had taught her to dance. That that was opening up memories she'd been hiding away for almost ten years. She'd repressed feelings and thoughts and the pain of that day, tucked it deep inside herself locked it up and destroyed the key. Or, she thought she had. But after dancing with Mr. Wayne she felt those deep things were starting to surface and creep out.

She didn't think she could handle it.

…

Kaldur had gotten too caught up; people could not stop asking him what it was like to be Aquaman's apprentice. After that talk it'd taken him forever to be free of people. By that time he'd lost Cailan in the throng of people. He thought he'd caught a glimpse of her once, but a girl who introduced herself as Zatanna asked him for a dance. That again distracted him.

When Kaldur finally spotted her she was out on the dance floor yet again. However, she was being guided around by none other than Bruce Wayne himself.

…

_1:26am_

Kaldur watched the couple dancing; her movements still had grace but now there was something…off about the way she moved. He paid careful attention when the dance ended. Cailan had a hand over her stomach when they stopped dancing. She excused herself too quickly.

_Something is wrong,_ the Atlantian thought as he raced after her.

Dodging around bodies and people, ignoring beckons to speak with gentlemen and ladies, he surged through the murder _[murder here being used as a large group of people, a clan, a horde, a throng; not the act of murder]_ of people trying to keep an eye on her.

_I cannot be sure, but maybe—_

He burst into the library and looked around.

Kaldur froze. She was standing in the moonlight, her head pressed against the windowpane. It terrified him how still she was. He didn't have time to think or to analyze anything this time. His chest felt as if it were about to burst, he couldn't make coherent thoughts, his breathing was labored. Acting on impulse and, startlingly, relishing in the act of doing so, Kaldur rushed forward to Cailan's side at the window. He didn't waste time getting her attention, didn't bother to stutter out a request or a witty line. He couldn't give himself time to think. If he did, he would tell himself it'd be better for her if he didn't act.

It wasn't like the movies. It wasn't the most romantic kiss in the world; it wasn't a ravaging, all consuming kiss of passion. They didn't jump into each other's arms, or kiss so long they gasped for breath and felt like they'd been broken when their lips separated. There was no sloppy noises, no body-gripping, no swooning, no foot-pop.

Kaldur simple went to her at the window, tilted back her head and gave her a soft, gentle kiss.

…

It lasted only a moment before he was pulling away. Her brain went half-way into auto mode, preparing her body for more. She was ready for the next kiss, ready for an extreme kiss, or make out, or whatever he was planning on doing. Her mind was saying 'great! A diversion!' It was, in effect, telling her to let Kaldur use her for what he wanted so she didn't have to feel.

But the moment was up and his lips—which had stayed remarkably motionless against her own—were pulling away.

He looked startled, as if he hadn't known what he was doing. There was a genuine fear in his eyes, not a mortal fear that she'd hate him slap him or that what they'd done was wrong. The fear was that he'd kissed her wrong, that he'd upset her.

"I…am sorry that it…it took so long," she distantly heard him force out, blinking rapidly as he looked down at her.

Her mind was still telling her to wait for the next part.

There was a silence that dragged out; the silence began cutting into her mind's override operation; she felt that same loss stirring in her chest. There was a dull aching there that her mind was beginning to get desperate to keep in. This was survival; the mechanisms were coming into place. Yet it was so quiet. Neither was saying anything, just staring dumbly at the other.

Kaldur's jaw jumped and he took a step forward. Her face was blank…something he had not expected. Then again, he wasn't quite sure what was expected. He again cupped her face in his hand and placed his other at her waist and pulled her up on her toes toward him. He moved slowly; Tula had been the only other girl he'd loved, and they had never made it far past courting.

But Cailan's mind was craving anything and so it let her body respond slowly to Kaldur's advances. His lips were soft and gentle against hers; she was used to force and movement and a general aggression when guys kissed her.

Kaldur's kisses were something new though. They were simple, really. It was a soft kiss that lingered for a moment or so and then ended. Then there was another, and his lips again lingered over her own. But his lips were so soft, and warm against hers. He didn't make his kisses sloppy with movement, or slobbery with tongues. It was like when he spoke, when he worked. Each movement was deliberate, precise, thought out; yet he wasn't cold, wasn't emotionless in it. There was a hidden reservoir she felt, and it, like her own hidden box, was starting to leak.

…

"Cailan…" he said, pulling away and looking at her, startled. "You are…"

He drew his thumb smoothly over her cheek and it shimmered in the moonlight.

"I'm not crying," she shook her head and blinked quickly, her eyes leaving his face.

"Please, do not," he said, his webbed hand against her cheek guiding her face back up. Her lashes hid her eyes—she was looking down, hiding something perhaps. He just wanted to look on her face.

"Will you kiss me again?" she whispered; she didn't know if he heard the words the way they came out (broken) or not, but he didn't acknowledge it if he did.

Instead he wrapped his arm around her waist to better lift her up to him and complied, kissing her again in his gentle, careful method. All her mind let her think in these moments was that she liked this style of kissing.

…

"Hey, have you guys seen Cailan?" Roy asked Megan and Conner, who were enjoying the night as an official couple.

"Actually, it's been a while," Megan said, a finger to her lips.

"Last time I saw Cailan she was with you, where Kaldur dropped her off," Conner shrugged, pulling at the collar of his shirt.

"Right. Batman's gonna kill me." Roy hissed under his breath. He knew he should never have left her with Dick. "Where's Dick?"

"Uh, I dunno. He's pretty good at disappearing," Conner shrugged.

By the time Roy had finally found Dick he was extremely ticked off.

"C'mon kid, how could you lose her, didn't the Bat tell you to keep a close watch on her, isn't that why you were both here together yesterday?" Roy growled under his breath to Dick.

"Hey, it isn't my fault. Barbra came over and Cailan kinda just shoved me into her and then disappeared. I think she's better than I am at it," he mused, looking around the crowds again. "What's it so important that you find her anyways, can't you ask Megan to find her telepathically?

Roy hadn't thought of that.

"Have you seen Kaldur? We've got to get back on duty together, we're already a little late," Conner said as Roy walked over to the couple again.

"No. I haven't. Hey, Megan, can you use your…to talk with those two and tell them to get their butts out here?" Roy said, slightly calmer now that he had a solution.

"Oh, sure!"

…

_1:43am_

"_Kaldur? Kaldur! You and Superboy need to get back on duty! Your break is up!" _

"_Cailan, hey girl, where are you? We've been looking everywhere! Come out and find me on the dance floor, we'll show these boys how to party, okay?" _

Both Cailan and Kaldur jumped; each had received a separate message at the same time.

"_I am sorry. I will be there momentarily," _Kaldur thought back. Somehow, he didn't feel at all ashamed.

"I must go…but…" he leaned down and gave her a slightly harder, longer kiss. He couldn't help just looking at her face; when she looked back at him he could see the tears caught in her lashes. She had been crying.

_I'm not crying._ She'd said to him. She didn't want to talk with him about it, not yet. "Are you alright alone Cailan?" he asked, his attitude suddenly that of hero and protector.

"I'll be fine, I'm going to find Megan," she said. "I just need to find my mask.

Kaldur nodded, hesitated, and then left the library. He felt exhilarated and yet, at the same time almost sad and longing. There had been someone on her mind that she wouldn't tell him. But, there was hope too. He knew he'd have time to take down her walls, even if the chore was brick by brick.

…

"_Oh, sure Megan. I'm just touching up my makeup, sweating so much from dancing!" _Cailan thought back, hoping Megan couldn't read emotions telepathically the way she could read thoughts. She seemed to buy it.

Cailan had thought she'd be fine when Kaldur left. She even managed a smile. And wasn't that what she'd wanted for a long time, a kiss from him? She had gotten that. So she should have been happy.

She wasn't happy. In fact, as the minutes ticked by since he'd walked out the door, she began feeling more and more empty. It was like, instead of being the putty to fix the cracks of her box, Kaldur had been a sledge hammer against them, and the cracks were bigger than ever. She wasn't sure what to do with that. She couldn't remember having felt this bad before…no, that was a lie. She could remember. She'd broken down in the gym before she'd dropped out of school. Had that been the same hollowness that ate away at her now?

As she thought about her memory of the gym another, older memory began to fester its subtle way into her thoughts. It was like smoke, not really a tangible thought, but there were feelings attached that were strong and their potency made her frightened and all the more determined not to remember.

…

_2:10am_

Megan had just taken off for her own shift. Cailan wasn't sure if she really wanted to see Kaldur, or if she really didn't want to see Kaldur. There was a giddiness she couldn't remember having with her other boyfriends. Roy kept a close eye on her; she didn't mind. Playing his coy game of 'like you hate you' kept her mind from other things. She was able to smile and fake laughter and talk about the mindless party things that everyone talked about. She didn't know that she was wearing her school smile, or that Kaldur had learned to tell the difference between the two.

He realized that he had been right about something being wrong as he walked back towards her after his shift. She was wearing that smile again. It was such a gruff, cold smile, practiced and calloused. He didn't like it at all.

"It seems the party is beginning to wear down," he said conversationally to Roy as he reached their group.

"Good. Maybe if everyone goes early enough we can get out of here too."

"Yes, it is looking hopeful—" Kaldur began to reply.

There was a loud, popping bang and suddenly glass was raining down on them with a rush of cold air and a heavy impact of smoke.

"You've. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me!" Roy growled out.

It wasn't a joke.

…

Dozens of Joker's cronies waltzed through the windows and busted through the doors. People were screaming men trying to calm their wives, wives screaming in fear of the attacking hoodlums. The security was instantly on the attack, a real fight breaking out right before the party-goers eye. However, the fact that it was the joker's henchmen made that a very bad idea. The fighting quickly became scattered and chaotic. Joker's people were, while not as insane as him, crazy. They had no structure to their fighting, had no qualms about innocent people getting in their ways, and the worst part of all, they were most of them psychopaths. They had no intention of self preservation, and that made them dangerous and unpredictable.

Kaldur leapt to the fray while Roy—a magical costume change happening covertly for nearly all the of the heroes—wrapped an arm around Cailan and swept her up and back away from the main area of fighting. He was playing body guard tonight. Where useful, he let one of his arrows fly if a member of the League or the Team needed him, but he stood protectively in front of Cailan.

"Red Arrow!" she hissed.

"What now?!" he demanded. "Kinda busy!"

"Stop guarding me,"

"What?"

"I said stop guarding me. You'll only draw attention. I'll just be like everyone else if I don't have a bodyguard hanging off me. They haven't noticed us yet, so go," she urged. She didn't know where she was getting this logic, but a deep gut feeling told her she was right.

As long as she wasn't seen being guarded, no one would know she was important. And, if anyone should come after her, a random hero could save her like any normal citizen.

Reluctantly he agreed when he saw Artemis take a hit from a blockbuster-venom hybrid meta human.

Cailan was right, oddly enough, in her reasoning. Now on her own, she looked like any normal, frightened party goer. However, she and Red Arrow hadn't been quick enough. Someone had seen him protecting her to a point of his refusal to move without her.

Now, Baal didn't know it was Cailan because she was wearing her mask. But he saw a very pretty thing with legs all alone having just been protected from the start of the invasion by one hero. That was interesting in and of itself.

Cailan had her back pressed against the wall and was feeling her way through the smoke to a corner to get to to say out of the way. She wasn't going to draw attention, she wasn't going to cause problems for the heroes. She was just going to disappear until it was all over, like a dream. When her back came to the banister and then there was nothing behind her, she turned, ready to get up the stairs and hide on the upper level.

Except that she came face to face with someone who'd been in her nightmares. Baal was leering at her chaotically saliva dripping through his yellowed teeth, his clown-makeup greasy like his hair. His hand flew up and tore the mask from her face—she'd forgotten she'd put it back on.

"Well well well, if it ain't the nice piece of ass from the alley. I remember you, oh, yeah, I remember you ya little bitch," He began laughing hysterically.

Cailan took a step back, waiting for a chance to—she bolted around, dodging an off duty officer taking a hit from someone else dressed up as a clown. It was a great escape and had she gotten very far she would have lost Baal in the crowd and been safe for a time. But as it was, she ran into someone who scared her far more than Baal ever could. And it wasn't because he had no actual head, or that he wasn't actually in any human; Jack scared her because his eyes bored into her so deeply, and it felt like as he did so he was scorching her soul with Lucifer's own flames. The Jack-o-lantern face glared at her, a scar down the pumpkin head. The eyes and mouth were set in a grotesquely angry face. His hands gripped her so hard there was an instant bruise there.

"Nice work Jack," Baal said, breathing foul breath into her face. Jack turned his horrible eyes onto Baal.

Cailan felt like she could see through those eyes right into Jack's soul. And she saw he was so bent on revenge for her—not hitting him, but stopping him from killing Kid Flash—that he didn't want to kill her, but to hear her scream until her throat was so ragged it bled. Shivers over took her body and she wanted to look away from those eyes.

While Jack's eyes were on Baal, obviously thinking over handing Cailan to the rapist or not, she took the opportunity to use a little of her ballet skills; a rough, strong kick made Jack let go of her and she was able to duck under Baal's own outstretching hands. Then Baal went flying and someone else grabbed her arm.

"You really know how to have a good time Cailan," Wally was joking as he flew around the room. "I didn't know you knew karate,"

"That was actually ballet," she said as he set her down; she felt light headed. "Lookout!" she screamed.

Instead of moving he played the hero and pushed her out of the way, which he hadn't needed to do in the first place. While thrown off balance and therefore off his own terms, Kid Flash was able to bounce right back into the fray of things and continue on uninjured.

Cailan's head whipped around, taking everything in at once. She backed herself into a wall and slid down, hoping to stay out of sight here. She'd never seen fighting on a scale like this before, it was an all out war. And people were screaming. Some of them tried to run but Joker's men kept them in the mansion. Some fought back and were knocked down; she heard rapidly firing guns and the sounds of battle, but she wasn't sure with all the smoke and movement if anyone had died or not.

She scuttled out of the way just as a limp body came flying towards where she'd been crouching. It was a masked villain, she saw as she looked back. She wasn't sure, but he looked like he was still breathing. On her feet again she wanted desperately to get to a group of other normal people. She wouldn't be singled out, maybe. She was scared Baal or Jack would come back for her. She didn't want that to happen, something deep inside of her told her she didn't want that to happen.

But if thoughts could attract, hers certainly did. Jack found her.

His face twisted in a sick pleasure as he pursued her through the insanity that was now Wayne manner. Cailan knew she shouldn't go up stairs or get too quick to run into another room—one that might be smaller, or have only one exit. But Jack was making it a very hard thing not to do. He was a psychopath, he was crazy, but he was obviously the smart one of the group. He was toying with Cailan, like a cat does a mouse—for the sheer sport of torture. Pretty soon she got caught; it was either leap into the fray and try and fight him off or it was make a run for it up the stairs and try to find a solid door to hide behind. She knew she'd be no good at fighting. She was small and she'd never actually fought anyone before, never thrown a punch or even slapped anyone. Cailan was good at using words; Jack was the kind of crazy that words wouldn't even slow down. There was no reasoning with him.

She lunged forward and then spun and bolted as fast as she could up the stairs. She knew she'd surprised him but he caught on fast and started chasing after her. She could hear him coming for her, could feel him behind her. He grabbed at the hem of her dress a few times; she was lucky it was pieced together in thick strands or he may have had something to grab onto. She made it to the first landing and turned, leaning on the banister, she supported her upper body and gave him a sharp kick to his gut. He stumbled backwards a few steps and she resumed her flight; she'd bought herself a little time.

But she'd also made him angry. He took after her now with more resolution than before to grab her. He managed it right as she was turning around the landing on the first floor. She caught the top of her foot on the stair in her hurry and tripped up, stumbling. She righted herself but it was too late. He grabbed her and turned her around, holding her fast. Her hands were weak against his chest, her kicks did nothing to him as he anticipated her moves.

…

The league members were doing fine aside from the sheer numbers of minions attacking and the innocent people in their ways. There were just so many it was like a small scale war. They couldn't figure out where Joker had come up with so many bodies.

Kladur was fighting on meta human that had been enlisted. It was strong and ugly. Catching Kaldur off guard through a decoy clown who ended up getting his nose broken for his trouble, the meta grabbed Kaldur and sent him crashing through the banister on the opposite side of the first floor landing that Cailan and Jack were on.

By this time Jack was trying to lift her over the banister and drop her below. From this height the fall would break her legs and leave her utterly helpless. Broken legs mortified Cailan. Jack was distracted by the crash for just a moment, leaving Cailan half hanging over the banister and half in his clutches. Cailan stared on horrified.

"Aqualad," she breathed out, her mind automatically changing his name for his protection.

Jack looked back at her. However, Jack was clever, Jack was smart. He saw the way her eyes were rooted to the spot where the Aqua-boy had landed over on the other side of the landing. He saw how she was more focused on the hero than she was on her own safety. He hated it, it was sickening when people cared for others. But there was something useful in it too. Jack knew. Oh, he knew.

…

Something collided with her face and then she was falling backwards. She didn't scream, she didn't have time. She was too stunned to scream out.

"I've got you," someone said; she was in someone's arms now. She was dizzy. Had she landed?

Blinking a few times, she realized she'd been caught before she'd hit the ground. Batman had saved her.

_Go figure that one. _She thought.

Looking over Batman's shoulder and trying to distinguish shapes as actual individual objects, her eyes lighted on Jack. And, though she couldn't seem him clearly, she could feel the angry waves of psychotic hate roiling off of him. She shivered and passed out.


	18. Rolling Fog

_**A/N: Firstly: Thank you all so, so much for your support! I was honestly concerned that I'd get some flak for taking off, especially for religious reasons. When I looked in my inbox and saw all of your messages of support and encouragement I was overjoyed and moved to tears. Thank you all. Updates will still hopefully come, but they will either be shorter (like his chapter) or will be longer in the posting process. **_

_**Secondly, sorry about the last two chapters being so long. They were supposed to be all one chapter, but…that obviously didn't work out. If you have any questions please feel free to ask about them. Thanks for the reads and the reviews. *note: **_Sophia Golrino _**is an actual woman I found online who works for a ballet school. I changed her name and know nothing about her. Much love to my readers.**_

_The sand was warm against her feet until it became dark with the ocean water. Where the sand looked like chocolate it was cooler, much cooler. The waves licked her feet and strands of lost seaweed. The evening was warm with a gentle breeze coming out from over the waves. The sunset was echoed on the chopping waves on the horizon. _

_She was walking towards their meeting place at the rocks. She needed to say goodbye to him. It was a sad night, but he said he was her friend so there was happiness too. She was excited to see him again. so much so she couldn't keep from running to the rocks. _

_But when she got to their meeting place, he wasn't there waiting. Breathless with excitement she looked around anxiously, determined to wait to see him. Timed passed quickly and she heard someone approaching behind her. She smiled and continued looking at the sea. It was so pretty. Finally she stood and slowly turned to meet her friend, excited to say goodbye one last time. _

_Turning around, she didn't find her friend. Turning around, she saw an evil face starring back at her with flaming eyes and a detesting scowl. She took a stunned step back; her foot plunged deep into the waters, soaking her clothes. It shouldn't have been that deep. She turned back to the ocean to look at what was going on; they were in the middle of the water, her feet were losing the solidity of the sand, she was losing her balance. Her hands began flailing around, reaching out for a hand to grab. There was none. The person stared on at her, his eyes glowering and hateful as he watched her sink into the gritty water, struggling to free herself. _

_Her feet became tangled in seaweed; the salt began stinging her eyes. She couldn't keep her balance in the sifting sand. She tried to scream but her voice wouldn't come out. She was stuck, trapped and close to being consumed by the ocean. And then he started to walk towards her. With each slow step his eyes glowed brighter, redder than before. They burned and as they did she felt his look burning into her sole. He was reaching out for her and though she wanted a hand to rescue her she didn't want him to touch her. She couldn't stand for him to touch her. _

_She heard her name in the distance. It was in the form of an incoherent sound at first, but it grew louder, more playful as time went on. As her name grew louder the advancing menace before her found it harder to walk close to her. He couldn't come close to her when her parents were calling her name. She choked out a frightened call to her parents. They couldn't hear her but as she did so, did it again, she found herself becoming free from the tangles of seaweed, from the pounding waves against her little body. _

_She screamed for them now and was able to take a step, then another, then another. As she called out to them and thought of them she was able to run from the water, run from the rocks and along the sand of the beach. _

_And then she was safe, safe with them in the car. She kept looking over the back of the seat, out the window of the car. She kept telling them that they had to hurry, that he'd come after her. She tried to tell them to go faster, drive faster, to get away from that place. They had to get away, he was evil. He was evil. _

_They smiled at her and reassured her that everything was fine. She tried to tell them, but they only smiled. They would only tell her to calm down and that everything was fine, that she was fine. They said she was safe now, there was nothing to fear. But she knew, knew better than that. There was something to fear and it was behind them, constantly behind them, at their backs. They needed to go faster she was begging them to go faster. And they just kept smiling at her in the rearview mirror. _

_She looked from their smiling faces in the mirror to the world outside the window of the car and she saw a figure slide past into the distance. There was a feeling of dread, but she hadn't seen all of the figure and couldn't place it. Then the figure slid past her window again. _

_The third time it slid past was the charm. It lifted its hand and she watched as a stream of fire began following the car. Her parents were still staring at her with happy, smiling eyes in the rearview mirror. She looked up at them and then back to the window in time for her to see the fireball hit the car. _

_The next thing she remembered, she was opening her eyes. Her limbs were dangling, she was hanging out of her seatbelt partway upside down. The car was dented and shattered, the glass of all the windows broken. Her chest was being constricted by the pulling of the seatbelt. She looked up and saw her mother's limbs dangling from her own seat. They were still swaying gently, but there was something scarlet dripping down her arms. She looked away, looked back to the seatbelt and tried to get out. It was stuck. _

_She heard the sound of crunching glass. Someone had come upon their wreck. She called out through the smoke and her bleary eyes for help, that her parents needed help. The feet didn't quicken. They held a steady pace as they walked around the car. She couldn't see who it was but she yelled louder, they needed help! She saw a pair of legs and boots walk up to what had once been the windshield and a figure standing there, looking at the wreck. She again called out for help, saying that they were stuck. Then the figure slowly crouched down. _

_It was the man from before. He was staring at her, and her body was on fire. His eyes were burning her up from the inside out. She started screaming, knowing that she was going to—_

Cailan started up and looked around. She was covered in sweat and shivering. Her face felt stiff and was throbbing. Her head hurt. She blinked and looked around. The light hurt her eyes; it was almost pure white.

She was in the guest room at Wayne manner. Her lights were off, but the sun reflected off of the snow outside and shone boldly into her room through the sheer curtains. She struggled with what was going on. It felt like she'd gotten smashed faced drunk. She'd had a hangover before—just once…or twice—and she couldn't remember having recently been drinking. Images floated into her head. Dick had said something about sneaking champagne, is that what they'd done? She'd had stronger stuff than that. She remembered and explosion, and smoke.

Her heard started pounding. The car crash. They'd been in a car crash. Something had exploded, the car had gone off the road, had rolled. She'd been caught in a car crash and people had died and he—

She felt sick. Closing her eyes she forced herself to sit up. She was in a dress, her hair—while slightly disheveled from sleep, was done up like—

_Like mom's in her and dad's wedding picture…_ she thought to herself.

Her memories floated back in more or less chronological order now. There'd been Wayne's charity ball, she'd been there with Kaldur. It'd been a good night, and then the Joker had attacked…Jack had come after her. Cailan's head pounded.

…

She walked with trepidation to the door and checked the lock and then, not waiting till she got back to her duffel she began stripping down. She pulled the pins and beads she'd woven into her hair out and dropped them along the wooden floor, dropped her dress around her ankles and, sitting half naked on the bed she tugged off the tights she'd been wearing. She walked naked through the room to her bag of clothes.

The cami-tank was softer against her skin than the silk dress had been even though it was only cotton. Maybe it was because she was tired and injured, and not feeling very beautiful. She threw a jacket that was a size too big on over her cami-tank; she didn't want to wear a bra. She didn't feel well. The sweats were like water against her legs though they were baggy and flannel. It felt like heaven to be in socks and crawl back into the bed.

She opened her eyes again and felt worse than she had before, her head foggy now and her eyes bleary with a short and disturbed sleep. She heard the dim sounds of some sort of life from below.

Holding her breath she got up and went to the locked door. Unsure if this was the smart thing to do she unlocked it and walked out into the second floor hallway. No one was around. Slowly and cautiously she walked down the hall to the stairs. The noises grew louder now. People were talking, walking over glass and rocks, things were grating against the floor.

_Skt, skt, skkkkkkt. Skt, skt, skkkkkkt. _

She slowly took the stairs, one step at a time until she was on the bottom step. Looking out over what had been the great hall she saw a multitude of people working at cleaning the debris from the floor, big brooms sweeping the smaller dust and chunks of granite and marble and wood and glass into piles to be dumped. The large pieces of stone or marble were being lifted with ease by these people and tossed into another pile. Pieces of tile were being glued back in place or entire sections were being removed all together. Bits of wooden paneling that had lined the walls were being pulled down, holes in the walls were being plastered over.

Looking down at her feet she saw something glittering and sparkling in the light from the afternoon caught under some smaller chunks of waste. Gingerly taking it into her fingers she pulled her mask from the floor. It was dented and torn, the design badly scared and pieces broken and missing. It'd been stepped on, the footprint still in dust on the face.

"Oh, Cailan," Dick said as she stepped down, pulling her long and tangled hair back into a loose ponytail.

"Hey, why didn't someone wake me?" she asked with a smile, grabbing a broom.

"…" he gave her an odd look then shrugged and smiled. "figured a princess needed her beauty sleep, that's all,"

"Hey, Megan was the princess, remember? And I'll bet she's been at this for a few hours already," Cailan quipped back.

Dick left her to sweeping up the area around the stairs; she was just another body now that she looked normal. No one really noticed that she was there, or that she hadn't been there previously. Dick was called over to help someone move something or other away. She continued sweeping, taking her cues from the other people working she began sweeping into a pile, making it a decent size with all the junk around before moving on.

"Hey, you alright?" looking up she saw blue eyes boring into her own.

"Oh, hey Conner." She smiled again. "I'm fine,"

He looked at her disbelievingly. Her smile didn't falter. She looked down back to her work and continued on. "My head hurts a bit, but I figured I could get out and help with something."

"It looks like you took a pretty hard hit." She looked up at him again. Was that concern, why?

Her brow furrowed and her smile came again, but spread wider because she was going to laugh. She stopped, a biting shock surging through her; her hand flew up to her cheek.

_Something collided with her face and then she was falling backwards. She didn't scream, she didn't have time. She was too stunned to scream out._

She'd been hit. Now she remembered. "Ow."

"Tch," Conner chuckled, shaking his head.

"What's that for?" her brow furrowed and she spoke slowly, scared to bring the shock back.

"That's all you say? 'Ow'? I don't understand you Cali,"

"What'd'ya mean?" she ran her fingers slowly over her cheek; it did feel a bit swollen.

He sighed. "Come look at your face," he took her by the arm and led her over to a broken mirror that lay in several pieces against a wall.

She looked into it and it took all her ability to keep her mouth shut. It was worse than it felt. She had an ugly mark on her cheek. Sure, she'd been hit before, she'd been through quite a bit on the street and with Jake a few months ago and all, but she'd never been given such a defining mark as this. Her cheek was raised and slightly swollen, and severely discolored. The bruise crept out to almost the rest of the side of her face it was so permeating. The flesh hurt when she pressed it, but it wasn't the traditional tenderness of a bruise, she knew what that felt like. This was something else.

"Oh." She felt stupid and her face grew hot when Conner started laughing softly at her. The heat made her face hurt. "Be quiet, you don't look so great either ya know," she muttered, pouting slightly.

Conner just laughed harder. "Yeah, I was fighting last night,"

His statement sobered both of them up. Cailan looked around. She wasn't contributing an awful lot to the cleanup project that was going on. No one even really knew that she was there. Her head started swimming for some reason. She blinked it away and stood, trying to hide from Conner the blackness that overtook her vision for a moment.

"Hey, I need to get to my room for a sec, kay? I'll be back in a few minutes," she said, looking to where she hoped he was still standing.

"Sure," she heard him say.

Her hand along the banister pulled her along up the stairs; she wasn't sure she'd have made it on her own.

…

_What the heck is wrong with me? _she thought, sitting heavily on the bed. She shook her head and swore at her own stupidity for doing so. Her head felt like it was on fire.

And image surged quickly into her head at the thought of being on fire and she leapt to her feet, her heart thundering at her. Catching her breath she walked to the mirror and sat down. She'd had bruises before, it wasn't like she couldn't hide it.

…

_1:20pm_

"Oh hiya Cailan," Wally said, seeing her for the first time.

She glanced up from working with Megan and Conner at getting a large pile of debris into a larger bin to be dumped into an even larger garbage bin outside.

"Hey Wally, doing all right?" she said carefully, trying not to speak too slowly or awkwardly. She'd put on foundation and her cheek looked almost perfect again. She let a little show through—she'd been hit in the face after all, some sort of sign of that was expected. Conner had given her a look when she'd first come back down, but he was letting it slide for now.

"Yeah. I was about to ask you the same thing…" he had a look of worry on his face.

"Haha, I'm fine. I guess I just freaked and fainted," she shrugged laughing a little. She didn't care if they knew about it, she wasn't going to pretend to be a brave hero. Someone had looked at her fit to kill her—

_He had no actual head, or that he wasn't actually in any human; Jack scared her because his eyes bored into her so deeply, and it felt like as he did so he was scorching her soul with Lucifer's own flames. The Jack-o-lantern face glared at her, a scar down the pumpkin head. The eyes and mouth were set in a grotesquely angry face. His hands gripped her so hard there was an instant bruise there_

—she was just a normal person. It was fine to have been scared.

"I'm glad you're alright, when Batman took you away last night we were all kind of worried," he said, his eyes flickering over to Megan and Conner.

"You shouldn't worry about me," she winked with her left eye. "I'm pretty durable."

Wally chuckled and began helping the other three out with their mess. It was a long and arduous cleanup project. Everyone was quiet and solemn.

…

_4:37pm_

The sky was darkening. Most of the debris were gone, though there were still repairs to be made. Cailan's entire body ached. She didn't understand why. She wasn't out of shape, she'd been doing hard work since she was young, and it hadn't been overly long since she'd worked like this in her own apartment either. But she was realizing it was taking all of her strength to not let her limbs tremble and fall beneath her.

"Cailan," she froze in what she was doing and looked up to see Kaldur standing there, surprised slapped across his face.

"Hi Kal—" she found her words silenced into his shoulder as he swept her into an embrace and buried his face in her hair.

Her face grew hot and her head started throbbing, making the room tilt and sway. When he finally pulled away she caught Megan and Conner staring at them, and Wally's mouth gaping openly, almost hitting the floor as he looked on at his leader's behavior.

"You should not be up now. You are not well," Kaldur said, his eyes stern as he looked at her.

She felt her embarrassed flush grow on her face. "Don't be silly. I told you before, it isn't like this is the first time I've been hit." She said stubbornly.

"Do not be obstinate. You should be upstairs resting." He said, his voice authoritative.

"I'm more use doing little things down here. I told you, I'm fine." She looked at him defiantly. Was it the floor swaying, or was it just in her head.

"You are not," Kaldur persisted.

"C'mon Kal, leave her alone," Wally said gently, smiling. "She's alright, she's been helping us all day,"

Kaldur looked down at Cailan with slightly narrowed eyes. She couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Now what could you all be doing, standing around and slacking off your chores?" Bruce asked, walking out of another room and placing his hands on his hips. Cailan thought she saw a slight pull at the corner of his mouth, hiding a smile.

"Ah, Ms. Leal, it's good to see that you're awake." He said. "Are you alright?"

She saw his brow quickly furrow in concern. "Yes,"

"You are flushed," Kaldur said, his eyes not relenting in their disapproval.

"No I'm not. Let's just get back to cleaning up," she said.

_Why is he looked at me funny? _She thought back carefully over what she had said. _Did I let my words slur?_

…

_7:49pm_

Cailan hadn't eaten much of anything for dinner. Her stomach was busy twisting in knots trying to prove she was fine. She pushed the food around on her plate and drank the milk; it felt curdled in her stomach. She'd excused herself while her friends were busy with some other important matter and had ducked out. Mr. Wayne had invited them all to stay a while—jokingly they teased him that he only wanted their powers to clean up his house, but they all agreed. They were off missions on Christmas day.

Wally had darted through the transport to the mountain to get the gifts everyone had bought for each other, and Bruce, Diana, Green Arrow and Black Canary, Roy, Clark Kent and Lois Lane, Flash and Megan's uncle John were all in attendance.

As they were all settling down there was a ringing at the door and Kaldur received the first gift of the night: his King, Queen, and friends Tula and Garth, had made the party. He was overwhelmed (Dick agreed that it was a case of overwhelm-ment) to have his family there.

They only noticed Cailan's absence when they had all assembled—even Alfred—around the great tree (which, though slightly singed in places and showing a few patches of burned wood and missing limbs, as well as slightly fewer ornaments, still looked beautiful as was again standing tall). They had pulled chairs and couches and pillows to sit on, started the fire, and everyone had a glass of eggnog (thought only the adults got the rum). Cailan had disappeared a few hours prior to their merriment of Christmas.

She'd always made sure that Natalia had a little something on Christmas, but she never decorated. She'd sometimes do Ms. Ginsburg's room up, if the old lady asked. Christmas wasn't Cailan's thing. Christmas was for families to get together. She didn't like to remember what Christmas had been like before she lost her parents, and then the depressing mess that it had turned into with her aunt and uncle. Not to mention she was feeling progressively worse as the night went on. Her head had begun throbbing so badly she was amazed the others didn't ask her why her head sounded like a drum. And her stomach didn't want to keep the milk and the little bits of food she'd eaten down. It kept churning, like frothing waves.

"Hey, where's Cali?" Dick asked as he sat cross legged in front of the fire place, his glass of eggnog in front of him.

They looked around and realized they'd been unaware of her absence.

"I believe I saw Ms. Leal heading up to her room." Alfred offered as he poured another glass for Megan who had found that she enjoyed the eggnog very much.

"I'll—" Wally started to say, having just returned with an armload of presents.

"No, I will get her, take your time with the gifts Wally," Kaldur said, sounding to everyone to be offering to do a chore for Wally, so that the speedster could play Santa.

Bruce Wayne had taken care that everyone there would receive at the very least one gift.

Kaldur took a deep breath as he climbed the stairs. He'd let three of his teammates see his affection for Cailan earlier, and Mr. Wayne, he was not sure how much Wayne had seen. That bothered him a little. He had hidden it well with simple concern; at least, he hoped he had. He was their leader; he should not be getting preoccupied with a charge. Not to mention the last time he let his head become distracted by a girl. But, if he felt that way, was it a crime to hide it?

"Cailan," he said softly, knocking on the door.

It was a moment before the door opened. She looked tired when she opened it up to him.

"Hey Kaldur," she smiled, though, it seemed slightly haggard to him. She, like everyone else, had changed for dinner. She was still wearing the only nice dress that she had, though it looked a little rumpled to him, as if she'd been lying down.

"Are you—"

She stepped forward quickly and put her fingers against his soft lips. "I'm fine,"

He placed his hand over hers and kissed her fingers, then moved her hand to his cheek. "We are going to celebrate, and open gifts. Everyone is waiting."

"Oh…I'm sorry you guys shouldn't have," she said, her brow creasing with distress.

"We want you there Cailan," he said, stepping back and bringing her hand with him. Aside from her extending arm, that was all that came. He looked at her, confused.

"I…I am a little tired, I'd hate to ruin it for everyone. I think I'll just go to bed early Kaldur,"

Her hand started to slip from hers.

"Cailan," he said, stepping back up to her. "Your family would enjoy Christmas more, if you were there,"

…

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting," Cailan said; she'd asked Kaldur for just five minutes.

The five minutes she straightened her dress (note, not the dress from the ball), fixed her makeup and was looking as normal as ever now as she entered the room. Her stomach was doing flip-flops, though, now because she didn't have a gift for anyone.

"Ch, yeah, of course you don't." Dick said, looking at her like she was crazy when she apologized to her friends. "It isn't exactly as if you could 'get out of the house' to get them, is it?"

"Yeah, no worries. You can just get us two next year," Conner said, sounding much like Wally in his joke.

"Here, want some eggnog?" Megan offered her a glass from Alfred's tray.

Cailan couldn't refuse the girl's smile. "Sure, thank you."

…

_9:10pm_

The gifts had been unwrapped and everyone was satisfied on eggnog and gingerbread cookies. They had all lapsed into smaller groups and were telling stories and joke and laughing. Cailan kept quiet, on two counts. She was speaking with Kaldur and his two Atlantian friends, and Artemis was taken with Tula, so those two were conversing a lot. Not to mention how horrible she felt. The eggnog was rich and creamy and she couldn't stop worrying that she might see it again, though much the worse for wear.

"Cailan," Dinah said, tilting her head so that her blond hair swung around over her shoulder. "They told me you dance,"

"Yes," Cailan said slowly; at Dinah's gently probing raised brows she continued. "I was on the school team but mostly I dance ballet,"

Her throat felt tight, like she was telling a lie that they were close to catching up on.

"Oh, I have never seen ballet before," the Queen of Atlantis was saying. "It would be wonderful, would you mind dancing for us?"

Cailan felt her face blush with the request, but there were a few others who chipped in and said it would be very wonderful. Buckling under the peer pressure and feeling obligated not only for her lack of any other gift and the request having come from royalty, but also as a way to appease Wayne's guests and therefore settle part of a debt she had come to believe she had to him.

"Well, I'll need music," she said looking around carefully. "And a bit of space,"

"There's a piano in the library," Bruce said, a knowing look on his face. "I think Lois can play, right Lois?"

"Yes, a bit. What music do you need sweetie?"

"Anything will do," Cailan said, standing carefully. She felt her tights shift against her legs as she moved.

"I have not seen ballet either, I am very excited!" Tula said, clinging to Artemis' arm as they meandered casually towards the library doors.

"Yeah, it's something," Artemis said for lack of a better reply.

Cailan took deep breaths. She knew she shouldn't be dancing. She was liable to be horrible, or to fall, or worse, to break something that belonged to the millionaire. She pulled her hair back out of habit and twisted it into a tie-less bun at the nap of her neck. It wouldn't hold for long but it would keep the distraction to a minimum. She heard the keys of the piano plinking a little and glanced over to Ms. Lane.

"Sorry, I just need to remember…" the woman said as she stared at the keys.

"It's alright, I can start anytime," Cailan said, looking at the ground and flexing her feet. She'd never had an exclusive audience before…actually, she wasn't even used to an audience when dancing ballet, not anymore.

_That's what's bothering you. You just need to clear you head and focus. Pick out a spot on the carpet and feel your body. Sing your mind into the song and let your muscles be guided by their strings to your heart. Relax, like you're a bubble floating through the sky, or a feather on the sea. _She flexed her feet in small steps and rolled her shoulders, trying to find the comfortable movement of her arms. She got a glazed over look in her eyes that Kaldur recognized and began a few pre-performance moves to get her body warmed up.

Kaldur looked closely and saw the perspiration on her brow. It didn't seem right, but she might have a bad case of nerves.

The music started to play and at first she didn't move. She closed her eyes and tilted her chin up, raising her arm. And then, in slow, cautious movements she started. She had to get a feel for the song, had to know the movements of her dress and her body and her breathing. But Cailan had been born to dance. She was able to raise up on her toes to her full extent and draw her leg up behind her head, able to bring that leg slowly down and out, parallel to the floor and hold it there before twisting around into a spin. Her feet were captivating as they moved, knowing what to do seemingly without her even thinking about them. Her eyes remained closed and her arms played off the movement of her feet.

She recognized the song. It was a few repeating bars of Beethoven's _Fur Elise._ When Ms. Lane finally stopped playing Cailan stopped too, standing on the tips of her toes, her legs crossed, her body twisted in a graceful, half-arc to her audience, her arms hanging over her head poised. She remained here for two and a half counts after the song stopped playing before relaxing back down to face her audience and curtsy.

She had to work hard to steady her breath and blink away the blackness that threatened her vision.

…

The younger kids wandered off into another room—the games room—for the rest of the evening while the adults got a fair share of bubbly or scotch. Cailan had appreciated the modest applause and compliments and then easily slipped back into the folds of obscurity as other subjects were brought up and Christmas things went on.

She wasn't used to Christmas.

It was late when people started leaving and the young team found themselves worn out and tired, ready to lay their heads on a pillow and go out like lights. That included Cailan. Her eyes were heavy as she once again went up the stairs to the guest room Bruce was letting her use. The mattress well could have been rock and it would have been comfortable to her. Her head ached, like someone had taken it and shaken it up in glass bottle until there was nothing but mush left over. She felt severely broken and rather disoriented as she once again fell onto the bed. She didn't bother changing, she'd hardly had enough strength or endurance to wash the makeup that hid her bruise from her face.

Instead she let her mind drift off and enjoyed the heavy dreams of slumber. But the dreams seemed to be her problem. Or, nightmares rather, were what invaded her mind on Christmas night. She tossed and turned; her body fought a fever and she was drenched in a cold sweat.

She dreamt of darkness and flames, and Jack's face permeated her sleep-vision. She couldn't keep still as she floated between an un-restful sleep and a distraught, disoriented awareness. When she was awake Cailan felt like she was floating on a mattress in the sea, that the room was tilting and swaying underneath her. Yet there was nothing worse than Jack's twisted, hate-filled face chasing her through her dreams.

Waking up startled and confused she bolted straight up. However, Cailan was perched precariously on the edge of the bed, her sheets tangled around her legs and, bolting with fear she was panicked. She writhed around and fell out of the bed. Of course, this would have been of little coincidence, except that she had the good luck to strike her already injured cheek on the nightstand.

Looking on the brighter side of things, Cailan was able to sleep well from that point on.

…

_26__th__ of December, _

_7:30am_

Cailan blinked several times before the shapes and shadows of her vision solidified into actual things in the dim morning light of the grey, after-Christmas dawn. Even blinking hurt. With a grim realization she knew her face was going to look twice as bad as it had the day before. Every movement sent a jarring shock through her starting with her cheek, running through her jaw and down her spine.

"Not. Good."

…

"Don't say a word." Cailan said with a clenched jaw, her eyes averted from Kaldur's face.

Kaldur sighed and shook his head; Cailan sat on the bed as still as possible in front of him. She was still dressed from the night before, slightly disheveled, her hair down around her shoulders in left over curls. His hand hovered at her face, but he dared not risk touching her. Her cheek was swollen and severe discoloring marred all along the side of her face.

"Come," He offered her his hand and repressed an 'I-told-you-so' "We must tell Bruce. Perhaps he can take you to see someone,"

Her eyes flashed up to his face, glowing dangerously. He hated it when she looked at him through her long lashes like that.

"Cailan, please?" he softened his voice, trying not to beg. "I do not like seeing your hurt."

"…I hate doctors."

He failed to suppress his chuckle at her this time. "Why should you hate doctors?"

"Because you wear paper dresses when you see them and they stab you with needles and their hands are always cold." She said; she knew it was the usual thing said when people were recounting the reasons they hated doctors.

"…" she tried not to look away from his eyes as Kaldur's bored intently into hers. "Cailan, you do not need to lie to me,"

She ground her teeth and jerked at the pain the stupid move caused her. Every move hurt.

"I don't like going back to hospitals."

It was enough to keep him quiet as the two walked down the stairs to find Bruce. The millionaire didn't question why Cailan had called Kaldur when the two arrived in his study. The man, while noting the two's not so subtle behavior, took a ginger though probing look at Cailan's cheek.

"Let me call Dr. Hammon, I'm sure I can get him to see you today. He owes me a favor or two," Wayne said, winking.

Kaldur watched the girl's jaw jump and the accompanying flinch and he could tell she was thinking something close to 'gee, great, a doctor'.

…

_9:47am_

Cailan sat gently swinging her legs. She was slouched in a cold room in a paper dress, waiting to be led down for x-rays. She'd been given aspirin for the pain, but it hadn't helped at all. The doctor had examined her face, his hands cold like she was expecting. She couldn't stop shivering as she sat there. She hated hospitals.

She hadn't suffered many injuries from the crash eight years ago. Some abrasions and some cuts were the only sign that she'd been in the crash at all. But she'd had to stay in the hospital, watching them work for hours on her mother. She hadn't been allowed to see her father, not at all. She wasn't supposed to have seen her mother either. But she had. She looked through the glass when the doctors with the clipboards had gone out of the room. On the other side of the glass had been her mother on a table; there had been so much blood.

Cailan shivered again. There had been so much blood in the car that it was hard to think that there could have been so much more in the operating room too.

The door creaked open and a nurse took her silently to another cold room where she was told to sit patiently on a metal tray-like table. Then she had to answer questions. Are you wearing jewelry, if so please, take it off. When was the last time you had your period? Are you on any medications? Are you pregnant? Is there a chance you could be pregnant? When she'd answered no to all these questions and taken off the only jewelry she wore—her anklet—she sat back. The nurse went over her pages on the clipboard and, looking up with narrowed eyes over the clipboard through her glasses she asked Cailan again. "Are you sure there's no chance you're pregnant?"

Cailan wanted to tell her 'no, you nosey old woman I haven't even gotten my v-card punched yet, if it's any of your business to know.' Instead, working to keep her mouth from moving too much, she answered the nurse.

"No ma'am. There is no chance I could be pregnant." She knew why she was being asked; if someone had taken a history of her menstruation they'd find she was irregular more often than not. However, that's what happened to athletes who were so poor as to be pretty much living off of the street: hard labor/work, the stress of her dancing added to taking care of her sister as well as worrying about food and living conditions, and the fact itself that her diet had been haphazard and poor in and of itself.

Cailan knew that the woman was thinking back to when she'd seen her walk in with Kaldur; it was obvious that they weren't siblings, possibly more so with the worry Kaldur showed her now that they were around only strangers. He hadn't tried hard to hide that he cared about her and was worried. Cailan knew that the nurse was thinking that they'd more likely than not had sex.

"Alright Ms. Leal, sit back and sit positively still," the woman ordered as she put a heavy, protective vest over Cailan's chest.

There were clicking sounds. The room was cold and it made her jaw hurt more than ever.

…

_10:16am_

"Well Ms. Leal," the doctor said, putting up the x-rays of her face so he could see them through the light. "It seems you have managed to fracture the zygomatic bone. It looks as though it's only a hair-line fracture however."

He turned back to her and smiled. "I can offer you a pain-prescription, but other than that my dear, there is little else you can do but to ice it."

He switched off the machine that lit up the x-rays and turned back to her. "Now, whatever did you do I wonder, to fracture your cheekbone?"

"I fell out of bed and hit the side-table." She lied.

"Hm." He drew out a pad and scribbled down some words. "Well, here you are. But be mindful, you are only to take one of these a day, and only if over the counter pills won't work. This is a very strong medication."

…

"Fractured cheekbone." She muttered as she came out of the office and pulled a coat stiffly over her shoulders.

"It is adorable how you talk," Kaldur said; his voice was even and his words caught her off guard. He merely laughed at her and walked her outside where Alfred had the car waiting for them.

"Shut up," she finally retorted, knowing he was teasing her for her thick speech.

"When we get back to the mansion Master Wayne wishes to speak with you, ," Alfred said through the intercom in the limo.

"Cailan," Kaldur said before he left her. "Be careful,"

The quick kiss he planted on her forehead was the closest they'd been since he kissed her in the library.

…

_10:34am_

"Hello Cailan. Are you feeling better."

"I hope to be soon," she spoke slowly, her words thick. "Thank you for sending me to your doctor,"

She had managed to repress her shiver at 'doctor'.

"Not a problem, I'm glad to have been able to help. Now, I understand it that you're past is somewhat of an ambiguity. There is some business about 'runaways' and the sort?"

"I'm eighteen in a few weeks. I'll be legal to live on my own before anything could really be done." She said, flinching through her clinched jaw.

"Please, there is no need to get defensive," she wasn't sure she liked how his smile and his smirk were indiscernible. "I have an offer that might suit you."

Her brow furrowed. She was almost positive that Bruce was Dick's mentor, which in turn had to make him Batman. And it would make sense then, how the League was supported—private investors like Bruce could supply a lot of money. But Bruce never seemed to be in a rush, nor was he as severe as Batman. In fact, Bruce had been almost friendly towards her over the past few days.

"What kind of offer?"

She felt a little chilled at his smile and questioned what she was getting into. She had a chip on her shoulder to trusting people.

"The night of the party I was berated from all sides over your ability for dance, Ms. Leal. Having seen for myself your talent last night, I can't say that it's unwarranted. Dick has also informed me that you've dropped out of Gotham Academy. Until this year, you seem to have kept up remarkable grades," his hands were behind his back and he paced his way over to the window.

"I have a reputation as a patron of the arts, and you have a very raw talent and very great potential. With the proper guidance and training, you could be great."

Bruce Wayne tilted his head back over his shoulder and looked at her, his eyebrows lifted but his face rather void of other expression.

"What I'm offering you, Ms. Leal," he turned back and faced her, looking like he was about to make a grave business deal. "Is the chance to make a career of your obvious passion for ballet."

Cailan sat down, still not sure what he was getting at. She looked up at him, waiting for him to continue.

"What I'm offering you is this: you may stay here as long as you wish, your every need met and under limited surveillance, on one condition." Cailan held her breath and his gaze as she looked back to him. "I expect to hear nothing less than 'remarkable' accounts of how hard you're working from Ms. Sophia Golrino. Her dissatisfaction with your abilities or effort would be grounds to make my offer null and void. However, other accommodations can be discussed if you were to take issue with Ms. Golrino."

"…Sophia Golrino? Who studied at the Royal Ballet Academy? Of the Gotham Ballet troupe? _The_ Sophia Golrino, who studied in Russia for eight years before coming back to perform at the President's request? That Sophia Golrino?"

"Oh, you've heard of her then?" Mr. Wayne feigned boredom.

"I'd…get to study under her?" Cailan asked, her voice almost inaudible.

"Of course, you're in no condition to train right now. I'd say a good six weeks or so of rest before you should start. But, yes. I have a gymnasium where you could work with Dick in strength training; there's a ballroom around here somewhere that can be transferred into a ballet studio within six weeks or so."

"You're paying her to teach me ballet, letting me live here, and building a studio for me?" her heart was bounding sending blood surging through her veins. It throbbed in her head and made her face hurt. "Why would you do that?"

Her question had caught Bruce off guard. He looked intently at her for a moment, the continued pacing and returned to the window, still not having answered her.

"I guess because when I was a kid and lost my parents, I had Alfred to look after me. I had a house to live in, money to spend as I pleased. But I didn't have a passion—for anything—when I was your age. I was filled with vengeance and anger. You've worked hard to succeed as you have."

"But why should you care?"

He shrugged. "Because if I had been in your place, I would hope someone would have cared enough to help me."

"How can I—"

He put his hand up to stop her and shook his head. "It isn't a debt kid."

"Thank you, Mr. Wayne. I won't abuse this chance."


	19. Humid Airs

_**A/N: if you haven't read the previous chapter, it is uploaded and is an **_actual _**chapter. Again, thank you to everyone for your support of my need for a break, and for your well wishes. I hope you enjoy this next chapter as well! P.s. the Joker, in my story, is more like the original joker/ Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight. If you need help imagining this in a cartoon, watch Batman: Under the Red Hood.**_

_Wednesday the 25__th__ of January_

_1:14pm_

She closed her eyes against the dizzying weave of the world. Lifting on her toes she continued after her faltered steps: the mark of a good dancer. She still couldn't get _Requiem _right. Her head began throbbing.

"I did not believe you were supposed to practice so soon Cailan,"

The girl nearly jumped out of her skin and her feet again faltered, and she found herself unable to reclaim her dance. Stumbling, she flicked her green eyes to Kaldur's face.

"Why are you so quiet?" she demanded, her breath catching as her eyes narrowed.

He arched his brows in argument to her. "I was not walking more quiet than usual. You are…defensive,"

"…" she sighed and with her exhaling gust her shoulders slumped. "I get like that when I'm frustrated with dancing. I'm sorry Kaldur,"

"Frustrated? You are having difficulties?" Kaldur asked, his voice slightly leading.

She noted his tone and was cautious in her reply, "Yes, I'm working on the choreography and I can't get it right,"

"And, this of course would not be because you are as yet not well enough to practice would it?"

She opened her mouth to argue, then snapped it closed, regretting having done so the second she had. Her eyes glowered at him but a smile began crawling to her lips. She shook her head at him and walked over to the music, switching it off.

"I hate it that you're right."

Kaldur took a step towards Cailan, then paused and anchored himself behind her. She turned back to him, her smile now settled. Her eyes reflected something else, something distant.

"What are you thinking?"

Her eyes came back and found their way to him again. Her eyes smiled and she shook her head. "Nothing, not really,"

He tilted his head and looked at her. She'd been looked at before; she'd had guys look over her body as if it were a car, a prize that they desired. Kaldur didn't look at her like that. His eyes were restricted severely to her own; somehow she always felt more uncomfortable with his gaze than she did under the lustful one of strangers. He seemed to be seeing more of her in doing so. He was eighteen, and more like an adult in his manners and maturity.

"Shouldn't you be in school?"

"You mean as much as you should be at your own studies?" he retorted, smiling back at her in their banter.

"That's not an answer," she pouted playfully, crossing her arms.

"Today seems to be a day worth celebrating," he mused, taking another step towards her.

"Why?" she asked, her brow furrowing deeply.

Again his brows arched at her, though this time in slight bewilderment. After a moment his face relaxed and he smiled, thinking she was joking. Her face didn't change, but became more confused. She slowly shook her head, not understanding what he was talking about.

"You are…eighteen, are you not?" he said slowly, his head puzzled.

"…" her face became vacant.

"Cailan?"

"I don't know." She shrugged.

"You…do not know?"

"I haven't had a birthday since…since I was eight years old. My aunt and uncle didn't—it wasn't important."

"Mr. Wayne said—"

"I threatened with my age because I knew it had to be sometime in winter. It was always after Christmas, but the day didn't matter. Birthdays aren't important."

"Is that because they are not, or because you haven't had someone to share yours with in quite some time?" Kaldur drew closer to her, perhaps offering himself.

"Because it's never mattered." She said plainly.

"Would you like it to?"

…

_12:46am_

"Robin, left!" Batman growled, punching a joker-poser hard in the face, sending him crashing through a window.

Robin leapt to the air and dodged a knife, kicked another Raggedy-Anne look alike in the stomach and landed skillfully on the shoulders of his would-be attacker. All sorts of freaks were out; the Joker attracted quite a following of punks and rejects.

"Batman, is this doing any good?" Robin asked, ducking the body that the Dark Knight threw inadvertently his way. "I mean, we're not getting information,"

"We find the one who lead the attack. Go!"

Robin, his signature laughter ringing eerily though the night, departed into the shadows.

"Here birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie! Hahahahaha!" Baal cackled out as he pounced at Robin from the darkness of the alley he was hiding in.

Robin skirted back and crouched, preparing to spring forward, his hand itching towards his belt of gadgets. Baal lunged forward and then back without making a move towards Robin; Robin acted in defense and went to counter an act that wasn't there and was set off guard. Baal swaggered, as if drunk, and professed the same move, however, while Robin was ready to counter with the false, Baal made a third strike and almost landed a blow straight to Robin's chest. It was the first time in a long time Robin was caught off guard and placed on defensive.

_Can't get a handle on him. Fights like a drunk, no pattern!_

Robin managed to dodge a blow for his head only to be taken by a knee to his chest. Baal took his moment of winded-ness and grabbed the Boy-Wonder by the hair, slamming his head into the wall. The boy was stunned, blinking furiously behind his mask to clear his head. Robin saw a fist coming right at his face and braced himself.

"No, no, Baal. No, we want this one," Robin shivered at the newcomer's voice.

"Joker," the child growled, trying to force himself to see only one figure.

"Heeheeheh-heh-hahahaaah!" the painted lips laughed out. "Bingo kid, right on the nose!"

"Now!" Robin threw himself to the side and backwards out of Baal's grip.

Batman sent the attacking boy into the wall with a sickening thud and lunged after the Joker. The purple-suited man slid backwards with another cackle into the shadows, leading the Bat away. Baal was recovering and again resumed his attack on Robin. Joker was serving as a distraction, a distraction only. He had no intentions of being caught or confronting the Batman.

Not this time.

…

_Friday the 27__th__ of January,_

_5:58pm_

"You look terrible," Wally said, freezing mid-run with an apple in his hand and staring at Dick as he walked through the transmission portal.

"I'm fine." The boy said gruffly, passing him without a second glance.

"Are you sure?" Kaldur asked.

"I said I'm fine alright!" Robin yelled, turning around to stare at them all.

Artemis closed her book, Megan dropped the cookies she was making and Conner and Wolf looked up, startled. Everyone remained quiet for a moment, looking hard at Dick. He glared back at them and sighed hard.

"Bad mission with Batman." He finally said.

…

_Sunday the 12__th__ of February,_

_10:00am_

"I believe this is a good time to begin lessons, is it not?" Ms. Golrino said, her face relaxed as she pulled her hair back and wound it into a bun.

"Yes ma'am," Cailan said, her eyes glancing over the woman's face. She didn't look like Cailan had thought she would.

"Good," Ms. Golrino's round face pulled into a motherly smile. "We'll begin with a warm-up,"

Cailan followed the woman with stretches she'd learned as a child, watching through a window, and basic steps she'd obsessed over for months. Ms. Golrino didn't even bother to keep an eye on Cailan; the girl realized it was being assumed that she knew quite a bit. The truth of it was that she'd learned most of her moves by watching, not having learned. Ms. Golrino was going to throw all that she had at Cailan to see how the girl performed, and then take the lesson from there.

Cailan was bound and determined to force herself to excel. She focused her skill and her body to the fullest extent; while she was mostly healed by now, there was still a lingering headache and her exertion brought it out in her now.

It seemed like hours since they'd started. When they'd finished warming up Ms. Golrino led her through several poses and moves, testing her to see how hard she worked, how much she already knew. Cailan felt her making judgments as she danced, noting how she did this or that wrong, marking down each faux-pa, each extra second down in her mind. Cailan recognized some sequential moves as parts of actual dances; other moves she was expected to do seemed simply beyond her.

It was exhilarating.

…

_Wednesday the 15__th__ of February_

_4:40pm_

"You sure have been busy," Dick said as Cailan came out the door.

She cocked her head to the side, grabbing a water bottle and cracking open the lid.

"I guess…its just weird not seeing you at the…clubhouse anymore," he was careful to use a codename for the mountain base.

"…you guys are busy being…well, busy," she winked. "I can't really believe that you've got time to miss me,"

"Tch, that's cold," The boy quipped back.

"No, I didn't mean—"

"Relax, joke."

There was a silence that hovered now between them. She looked him over carefully; he was a unique kid, that was for sure.

"Tell ya what, I'll play hookie from Ms. Golrino Saturday. You guys should come 'kidnap' me then, kay?"

Dick had only time enough to nod before she'd turned on her heel and walked back to her dance-instructor's commands. She walked like a dancer.

…

_4:56pm_

"Hey, you hear from Cailan?" Wally questioned.

Kaldur looked up at him surprised, then looked back to Conner and Megan.

"No…I was unaware I was supposed to have done so…"

"Ah, cool." Wally nodded.

The exchange was awkward; Wally knew there was _something _between Kaldur and Cailan. He'd begun to slowly realize that Cailan saw him as a friend, if not a silly younger brother. His crush had slowly eased back from the intensity it'd been at that summer, though despite the dissipation, there was still something there. But he realized that there were rules at play now; he couldn't continue acting around Cailan as he had.

"Hey guys," Dick said as he strolled (in a much better mood, having been on a few missions that ended well with Batman) in.

"Hey man," Conner nodded and stretched.

"What's on the agenda for Saturday?" Dick questioned as he spun a chair and sat in it backwards, folding his arms over it leisurely.

"It seems nothing, unless a mission or surprise-training should pop up,"

Dick nodded; he was pretty sure a 'surprise-training' wouldn't come. He did, after all, have inside sources.

"Then I've got something," he asserted.

They looked to him now, their interest finally and fully peaked. Even Wolf (if you don't know Wolf, please look into the new episodes; you can find them on youtube!) quirked his ears up towards the youngest member.

"Enlighten us," Kaldur smiled, setting the hilts he was working on down, giving Dick his full attention.

"Got an inside source that dance-class is canceled for Saturday." He smirked. "We should take a break, live on the wild side…"

"Just what did you have in mind," Artemis narrowed her eyes, and shifted her position.

"Oh, nothing _too_ devious…just a little…kidnapping."

"…" They all stared at him like he was mad.

"Oh, c'mon we're not _really_ going to do something illegal, geez. I'm _saying_ that Cailan is taking off her dance class Saturday and we should all go out and do something," he rolled his eyes and chuckled at their initial reactions.

"She doesn't have dance?" Kaldur questioned, working tightly to keep suspicion out of his voice.

"She's playing hookie," Dick shrugged.

"She doesn't like it?" Wally immediately questioned, leaning over the coffee table at his friend, his eyes wide.

Dick looked at him open mouthed, fully taken aback. "What—no, I didn't say that!"

"So she's wasting that Wayne guy's money," Artemis mused, quirking a brow.

"She okay?" Conner questioned, remembering the ugly mark on her face.

"Is she not happy living with Mr. Wayne?" Megan asked, worry all over the young alien's face.

"Has something happened?" Kaldur's deep voice stood out above the others', making them fall silent the moment they'd left their comrade's lips.

Dick shook his head to all the noise and stood up forcefully from the chair. "Geez would you guys calm down! Who'da thought heroes would be so excitable,"

"We are simply concerned," Kaldur mended the matter easily, his rich tones soothing the others to settle back and wait for Dick to again address them.

"Guys, Cailan is fine." He smiled to them, folding his hands into his pockets. "She's better than fine,"

With a sigh he again took his seat, his arms folding back over the back of the chair. "It isn't that anything's wrong or that she's unhappy. D'you remember how she was when she first found out she'd be staying with us? She acted so—"

"Upset?"

"Morose?"

"Snotty?"

The three words rang out at once, Megan, Artemis, and Wally, though not in that order.

"—depressed." Dick continued, ignoring them. "She acted like she was trapped, even dropped out of school. Not that it wasn't like she was a prisoner…though, that was a little drastic…uh, anyways. My point is, she moped around here like Eeyor. Guys, if you could see her, she's _thriving_."

Kaldur caught himself frozen when he'd heard that word. _Thriving._

"So…why's she playing hookie?" Conner asked.

Dick shrugged. "I told her we missed her."

…

_Saturday the 18__th__ of February_

_10:10am_

"Oh no, masked…people, whatever shall I do?" Cailan mocked as she peered over the book she'd curled up in a large, over-stuffed, wing-backed chair with.

"Guess the only thing you can; come with us or…die," Conner said with a stoic shrug.

"Gasp!" She grinned and swung her legs off the arm of the chair, snapping the book closed.

"You look well," Kaldur said, a gentlemanly nod in her direction.

"I'm sorry to not keep in touch with my school friends," there was a terse note on her voice; her smile countered it nicely.

"Eh," Wally waved her off and darted to her side. "Now, you're coming with us, if you know what's good for you."

She giggled and stretched. "Where to?"

"Haha, you're not getting off that easily," Wally grinned to Dick, who produced a blindfold.

"…you're joking…" she scoffed, glancing around at all of them. They weren't.

Conner was the one to scoop her up and carry her to Megan's ship. She played along and restrained herself from asking questions. Until a particular thought crossed her mind.

"What's gonna happen if you all get called off?"

"We abandon you."

Everyone froze for a moment; they were startled because it was Artemis…_Artemis_, joking with Cailan.

"Hahah…better pray you don't get called off then…"

…

"Haha yea well all you do is dance so what d'you know?" Conner laughed as their playful argument ended, settling himself back into the ground.

"So you can leap buildings in a single bound?" Cailan asked as they lounged in the snow in Metropolis Park.

"Yeah, pretty much." He nodded, taking a sip of soda.

She nodded and sat up, throwing her hands on her knees.

"You fast?" her brow was arched and she was staring intently at a tree about a football field's distance away.

"…yeah, I'd say so." His eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"I'll race ya," she jumped to her feet, her stance challenging, a smirk on her face.

"Tch. Race me?"

"Hey, I'm the runner," Wally protested, frowning.

"Yeah, but I'd never beat you." Cailan said bluntly.

"Hah, you think you can out run me?" Conner demanded incredulously in good humor, standing.

"Eh…yeah." Megan and Artemis were paying careful attention by this point, not sure where this was going.

"Alright, what's your catch?"

"Hah, no catch," she shook her head. "Just a simple race. From here to the dead tree. No leaping-in-a-single-bound, but anything else goes and loser…buys lunch for everyone,"

"Deal. Hn, hope you're ready to take some orders," he said, walking over to her and standing next to her, posing to run.

"Alright, on three: one, two—" she turned and pushed him over and took off running.

When he looked up again she'd already gotten about a quarter down the field. "Three!" she yelled back over her shoulder, unable to keep her laughs silent.

"Wha—hey! That's cheating!" he yelled; her laughter was what met his super-hearing and he grinned wryly, leaping to his feet and taking off after her.

Cailan was booking it, knowing he would be fast on her trail and that she had no chance if she didn't quickly outdistance him. Her chest burned and so she pushed herself harder, ignoring her body. Artemis and Megan started cheering, grabbing Wally's attention back to the racers, and he decided to dart down to the 'finish' line to call it. Cailan's hair was streaming behind her as she ran, frantic to outpace Conner.

"So not happening," Conner laughed, pausing and jumping into the air.

Cali had made it three fourths of the way down the field when he landed just behind her, looping and arm around her waist and pulling her backwards. Out of fear of hurting her he let himself tumble with her. She gave a surprised cry as they fell backwards. He started getting up and before he could she grabbed his ankles and brought him crashing back to the ground. They were a heap of laughter as they struggled against each other to get up; finally when both of them were standing he lifted her and placed her behind him, giving just a little enough of a push to make her take a few steps backwards. Unwilling to lose she dove and grabbed onto his arm, pulling half his body down. He turned to respond and doing so unbalanced the both of them and they abruptly tumbled over the little slope and rolled to the bottom of the hill the field was located on top of.

Wally was beside himself in laughter, unable to continue standing as he watched his friends. Cailan—having had experience in deliberately rolling down hills in her childhood, found her way unsteadily to her feet and struggled to get up the hill and down to the tree. Conner was trying to undizzy himself and tripped her to slow her down.

As she fell she gave a playful scream. "Wally! Help me!"

Fighting through his laughter he jumped up and sped over to her, picking her up with ease and darting back to the tree. When Conner saw this, he leapt into the air and descended at the same time Wally put Cailan down. The three started at each other for a moment, looking back and forth between each other's faces.

"I think that's a tie," Wally finally said.

Then they broke into wild laughter, falling to the snow covered ground in hysterics.

"What dorks," Artemis rolled her eyes and shook her head.

….

They'd shaken the snow dusting from their clothes and meandered around the park for a while. It was about noon when they wandered over to the quad—a central location where there was a security booth, some food places and a few shops, and a concrete square with a fountain in the center. There were speakers up all over the quad, tuned into a master radio in the security booth. They'd had lunch (Dick had graciously offered to pay) and were now lounging by the fountain, telling stories and catching up on life since they'd been living together.

A Ke$ha song came over the speakers and interrupted their talking.

"Omigoodness yes. Megan, Artemis, yes," Cailan said, jumping up from where she'd been sitting and offering out her hands to the other girls.

"Uh…?" Artemis asked as Megan eagerly took the hand offered.

"What for?" the blond asked.

"We're going to dance." Cailan said simply.

"No, thanks," Artemis said. "I don't feel like dancing," was elicited when Cailan didn't remove her hand from in front of Artemis' face.

"You will," the other girl turned and pulled Megan with her and the two started rocking it out to the music playing.

Artemis watched on, feeling a bit left out as she sat back with the guys. The boys, rather put out and highly confused as to 1)when this had happened and 2) why they hadn't been asked to dance as well. Megan and Cali continued, blissfully ignoring the others as they just enjoyed living at that moment. Megan watched some earth-girl dancing and tried out a few of the moves. Cailan took her hand and spun her and then did a suave, sliding move over to the fountain. At first it looked as if she were going to take one of the guys' hands but she danced around them, a little teasingly, and stood in front of Artemis again, putting out her hand as she rocked back and forth and bobbed her head to the beat. Artemis looked at her hand again and rolled her eyes.

_Geez she's annoying; can't let anything go._

"C'mon, it's almost over," Cailan said, smiling at the younger girl. "What will one dance hurt?"

When Artemis didn't look at her she bent down and grabbed her hands, forcing the blond to her feet and dragging her reluctantly out with Megan. Going off of Cailan's lead Megan kept stepping in front of her teammate and taking her hands and dancing around her, not letting her go back to the fountain.

"We're not giving up Artemis," the alien said.

"C'mon, have a little fun!"

"Hey! What about us?" Wally shouted, throwing his hands up in the air.

"What about you?"Cailan questioned coyly, a pout on her lips as looked back at them. "No one's stopping you from dancing with each other,"

The girls all laughed at this, knowing full well how awkward that would be. Kaldur just smiled, Conner laughed a little and Dick and Wally put considerable distance between each other.

"So not feeling the aster," Dick muttered.

Cailan, feeling rather impish, maneuvered herself in dancing around the other two girls and told them a plan. Eagerly agreeing (she'd do anything to get out of dancing) Artemis started rocking a little, swaying to make it look like she was getting into the dance. Cailan moved enough to be the attention getter, and Megan, while still dancing (though not as decisive as before) used Artemis as a shield to hide what her mind was doing.

The song wound down and was starting to end and Cailan caught the others' eye. "Now!"

Megan telepathically placed a snowball in the other girls' hands and they let loose. Megan's mind send one and nailed Superboy on the symbol on his shirt, her other managing to graze Dick's shoulder as he turned at Cailan's shout. Artemis nailed Wally in the head, startling the kid a bit and Cailan, her aim considerably worse than the other two, caught Kaldur in a glancing shot.

"Oh, it's so on!" Superboy said, jumping down and scooping snow in to his hands.

"Run!" The girls started giggling and took off, ducking behind a wall for cover, Megan already creating perfectly round ammunition for the other two girls.

The boys used the fountain, Kaldur making their ammunition with his powers (snow was, after all, water) much the way Megan did. However Megan was able to throw hers as well as make them, while Kaludr was simply on crafting duty. Wally and Conner more than made up for that (the latter careful that his arm wasn't too hard as he let loose) and Dick was dodging all over trying to make it to the girls' stronghold.

"Megan! Okay, I've got an idea," Cailan's eyes glowed; Artemis found herself leaning in, curious as to what sort of attack the girl could come up with. "Here's what we do…"

…

_1:45pm_

"Now Cailan!" Artemis' head popped up over the wall and yelled. The guys saw Cailan dart around their protective covering, armed with a snowball and skirting the few shots that came her way.

"Wait, don't worry about Cali, let's take their fort!" Dick yelled, grabbing ammunition in each hand and bounding over the wall. Wally and Conner followed suit, Kaldur the only one to hang back a moment; why would Cailan be the one they sent out for a frontal assault—she didn't have the greatest aim, nor was she as battle-agile, per say, as the other two.

"Wait—"

But it was too late. He stood and saw that as soon as they'd made it to the no man's land between the forts, Artemis and Cailan had popped up from behind their fort and were issuing forth as many snowballs as their hands could grab while the Cailan-disguised-Megan had turned into herself and let the ammunition she'd concealed fly. Kaldur couldn't help but laugh when he saw his comrades smothered in a barrage of flurrying snowballs. His three teammates were successfully defeated, even the speedster Wally was on the ground, covered in broken snowballs, not sure what'd happened. Cailan and Artemis stepped out from behind their fort, not perceiving any further danger. Cailan gently tossed one last snowball up and down in her hand, looking from the boys on the ground to Kaldur.

"Not that we need to," she said, carefully stepping over them. "But we might as well make the victory complete,"

Each word was enunciated with a step and each step she took brought her closer to Kaldur. On the last syllable of 'complete' she stood toe to toe with him and grinned up puckishly at him. He chuckled.

"A throw from this distance?" he questioned.

"Nope," she took the snowball and crushed it into his chest; as she did so she lifted onto her toes and gave him a quick and unperceived kiss. "Bang,"

She'd made a gun as she drew her hand away.

"Dude!" Wally said sitting up.

"…okay, not feeling the aster. Not at all," Dick grumbled, brushing snow dust from his clothes.

Conner shook the dust from his hair as he got to his hands and knees and then stood. "You know, we'll get you back,"

"Counting on it," Cali quipped, shooting a wink his way.

"Nice plan of attack," Wally said as he came up to Artemis, brushing some snow off of his own clothes.

"Yeah, it was Cali's idea," Artemis said, her arms crossed but her voice neutral.

…

_Friday, the 3__rd__ of March_

_8:07am_

"Mr. Wayne," Ms. Golrino said over the phone. "May I have a moment?"

"Of course. How is Cailan doing?" he asked, raising a hand to the secretary a she walked through the door of his office. Taking the hint she backed slowly out and closed the door quietly.

"Wonderfully. That's actually why I called, Mr. Wayne. When I started with her a matter of weeks ago she was simply a good dancer with unbridled talent. But in these weeks…she's focused her energy and talents—she's more in tune with her body than many professional dancers I know."

"That's good news. I'm glad to hear she's progressing so quickly,"

"Well, that's just it. I feel that she's progressed enough to where she doesn't need me anymore, at least, not in a one on one setting. What she needs, if I may say Mr. Wayne, is to be challenged by the confrontation of working with many choreographers, and among other dancers who are better and more skilled than she."

…

_5:32pm_

"…well that's just it though, next time we should come out hard and fast. That way we'll take them by surprise, especially if we have no intentions of beating them the first round."

"Ah, you propose we hustle our opponents?" Kaldur replied, opening the door of Wayne manner.

"Hah, something like that," the boy thought back to his one on one fight with Baal. In fact, that was exactly what he had in mind.

"I suppose she'll be in the ballroom," Dick shrugged and started up the stairs; they were going to see if Cali wanted to go to dinner with the team.

"Cailan?" Kaldur asked, knocking once and pushing open the door to the ballroom.

Cailan turned and looked over her shoulder; she'd been working for hours, they could assume. She was sweaty and looked tired, and at their entrance she'd brought her leg down to stand fully on her two feet.

"Kaldur, Dick you're never going to believe it!" she said, happily, taking only a second to turn and run to them.

Dick smirked at Kaldur as she threw herself into a hug. The leader felt himself unable to decide how he should react. He didn't have to; she'd pulled away and was looking back and forth between them. "I'm going to be auditioning for the next Gotham Troupe performance!"

"That's great Cailan!" Dick said, a smile growing on his face.

"It is indeed wonderful."

"I can't believe it! Ms. Golrino came in late this morning and told me that I had to do better and just started ragging on me," Kaldur knew that the story had more to it because her face was so bright. "and told me if I didn't smarten up the Troupe wouldn't let me audition."

"Geez, she sounds pretty harsh,"

Cailan interrupted Dick with a shake of her head "Nah that's just Ms. Golrino. She's got me working on pieces they've performed in previous years—I audition in just a few weeks!"

"We are all very happy for you." Kaldur said, smiling at her.

"Haha great! Now we have a reason to celebrate!" Dick punched the air.

"Celebrate?" Cailan turned her bright eyes to him.

"Yeah, we came to invite you to dinner at the club house,"

…

_Tuesday the 21__st__ of March_

_12:30pm_

"Owh! Geez Kaldur, easy on the landing," Wally groaned, rubbing his backside as he landed on the training platform.

"I am sorry my friend." Kaldur blinked, coming out of his 'fight' zone. "However, if you dedicated as much time to practice as your science, it might not happen,"

"Hey!" Wally protested to Kaldru's smiling face as he helped him stand.

"Come, shall we try again?" the Atlantian asked.

"Ehrr…" Wally hesitated. "I dunno man, maybe you should fight Supey; you're getting kind of vicious."

"Hm?"

"Ah relax Wally, Kaldur's just taking out his frustration in not having seen Cali in a while." Dick teased.

Kaldur jerked back and started open mouthed at him. Conner nudged him hard in the ribs to get him to stop cackling; he sure wouldn't like to be teased about Megan.

"Yeah, what's Cailan been up to lately?" Megan asked, unknowingly saving her leader from more harassment.

"Still practicing," Wally said, shrugging and walking back to the center of the training floor.

"Still?" Conner scoffed.

"Tch. Yeah, she's gotta practice for the Gotham Troupe; they're hardcore." Dick said, making himself laugh for talking about ballet being hardcore; it seemed like the wrong word to describe dancing.

"She's auditioning tomorrow; today she is probably resting," Kaldur answered him, stretching and shrugging, loosening his muscles to go again.

"You sure do know a lot about her schedule," Artemis said, arching a brow.

He sighed. It was not surprising that it had come to this and he was expecting a barrage of questions; he hadn't tried very hard to hide his affection for Cailan.

"Dick and I had an enlightening conversation when we invited Cailan over. If you wished to know such things, you could ask Cailan." He felt the flush leave his cheeks with his clever cover.

"She really hasn't been coming around much though," Conner said, more than a little put out.

"It is not as if she has much time to do so, nor do we," Kaldur replied, waiting for someone else to spar with.

"How 'bout we make this interesting?" Artemis challenged with a smile as she stepped onto the training platform.

"…" Kaldur waited for her to continue, crossing his arms.

"If I can take you down, you get to tell us what's going on with you and Cailan."

"And if there is nothing going on where does your bet go?" he questioned, getting into a fighting position. "And if I take you down, what do I get?"

"We'll get off your case," Dick suggested, cackling under his breath.

"You ready?" Artemis demanded, crouching.

…

"You were supposed to grab him."

Baal cowered in a corner, shrinking from the Joker's gaze.

"And just what part of 'grab the bird-brain' do you not understand" the yellow teeth grimaced at him "Baal?"

The others snickered from the darkness. _Baal messed uuh-up, Baal messed uuh-up_.

"Well! Why did the little birdie get away Baal?" Joker twisted his greasy hand into Baal's hair and pulled hard. "You need to fix this, or Uncle Joker's gonna have to find a way for you to make up for it. You don't want that Baal, you really don't want that."

Baal gulped, thinking fast, glad that for once he wasn't all strung out. He wracked his brain, thinking of any solution, any way out from under the Joker's wrath.

"Th-There's someone else!" he whimpered out as the Joker's other hand slithered over Baal's neck.

The clown froze, his mean eyes slowly roving over Baal's face to discern if there were truth behind them or not.

"Y-Yeah…yeah, there's someone else. Someone else…she'll be easier to grab."

"Really? Oh, well, then that solves everything." The green-freak growled, grabbing the boy by the throat and crashing him into the wall.

"N-No! Jack knows too! He knows too! It's that girl, the one Jake was screwing with or whatever, from the alley!"

Joker's face darkened and his hands groped the boy hard, his fingers clawing around the boy's throat. "Well perfect, we'll just bring Jack-y boy in here to tell us about the little slut you're both chasing after."

"No, I mean…I mean that sh-she's special to them! Jack saw it t-too!"

The Joker's grip laxened around Baal's throat so he could speak. "Go on,"

"She knew one of the hero-sidekicks." Baal spat out, scampering back into the wall away from Joker's grasp. "A-and-d…an-an-an-and the red one…uh, the arrow's boy, the uh, uh, R-Red Arrow! He wouldn't leave her side,"

The Joker paused at those words, his hands laced behind his back, puzzling over the information. His eyes strained and he looked again at Baal, those glossy, crazed eyes ordering the kid to continue.

"Y-Yeah, they were really protective of her…"

"Hm…" Joker began pacing. "Protective of a girl? A girl at the Wayne Christmas ball no less? Hm, now why do you think that is?" his tone was falsely inviting, sickly sweet, as if asking for Baal to answer him.

"C-Cause…uh…s-she's somebody important?"

"Because she's rich you dumb—bah! All we'd get out of taking her would be trouble and perhaps a load of cash. We're not after cash, not this time round kid. No, we're playing bigger games." He again turned his eyes to his prey. "and those games require the right pieces, Baal."

"N-No wait!" Baal begged, pulling back into the wall again. "Ask Jack, Jack knows! He heard it, he heard her!"

"Enough!" Joker roared, grabbing something from his repertoire of weaponry.

"Please! She knows them!" Baal crouched into himself, cowering.

Joker froze.

"What? What did you say?"

"…the girl, she knew them…" Baal choked out.

"…she _knew_ them?"

He nodded furiously.

The Joker looked at him cruelly, his eyes calculating. "If she doesn't…"


	20. Watery Breaths

_**A/N: sorry to have kept you all waiting for so long. A full month or so! Well, the wait is over, the official chapters 18 & 19 are uploaded for your viewing pleasure. This is chapter20 and the story is finally getting underway! Enjoy and please review. Much love! (also, please ignore the spelling mishap with Cailan's name; my computer auto corrected and I didn't catch it until now!) **_

_Wednesday the 22__nd__ of March_

_12:34pm_

"Are you going to audition with _Requiem?_" Kaldur asked over the phone line.

"No. I still haven't figured that one out yet… Ms. Golrinohas been having me dance to Swan Lake instead…" Calie answered him.

"You do not sound very pleased," Kaldur smiled over the phone line, crossing his arms as he rested against the school-hall phone booth.

"…well…just about anyone going through the Troupe is going to be able to dance that, and dance it well. Not many dancers can choreograph something though…"

"You will do fine. So what if another can dance the same steps—you are a good dancer because you make the dance look as if it belongs to only you. There will be plenty of opportunities for your own designs Cailan."

Cailan curled up in a chair, drawing her knees close to her body and tucking the phone carefully to her. She was tired and had just eaten; Ms. Golrino gave her an hour at lunch to rest and eat before her work started again.

"Cailan?"

"How can you have this much confidence in me?" she asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious and scrutinized.

"…because…" he paused, unsure if he wanted to confess he'd watched her that day at the gym, just before she'd disappeared. "It is not as if I have never seen you dance before, is it? Cailan," he checked around him and dropped his voice, turning into the wall. "I was born a warrior of Atlantis; my whole life has been about defending my kingdom, since I was born Cailan. You were born a dancer. You will do fine."

"Hey…Kaldur?" her voice became quiet.

"Yes Cailan?"

"…c-could…could you…have Dick do you a favor? I mean, only if you want to but I was wondering…I mean, they're supposed to be closed but if you were interested maybe…you could come to the audition later today?"

Kaldur chuckled; he couldn't understand why she rambled when he spoke to her, why she became so flustered. "If nothing at the clubhouse comes up Cailan, it would be an honor to go."

"Are you mocking me?" her voice became flirty as she smiled over the phone.

"Only if it makes you speak like that more," he teased her back, his rich voice husking a laugh into the phone.

"Kaldur…?"

He arched at her voice; it was different, somehow. He found himself holding his breath, his pulse start to increase.

"…do you l—" the school bell rang out dismissing from lunch; students crashed through the doors, their number creating a ruckus through the halls.

"Wait, Cailan, what was that?" Kaldur asked, pressing a hand over his ear and crouching deep into the booth.

"…need…to class…" he heard her voice quietly over the commotion in the halls. Then there was just the beeping of the dial tone.

…

_1:57pm_

"Robin," Kaldur hissed in the library, strolling to the bookcase behind the young boy.

"Hm," Dick made no other movement than to give a hushed reply to Kaldur.

"I have…an engagement to get to, can you help me out of class?"

Dick paused in his reading, trying to stifle the grin that had started spreading over his face. "Is this a…_covert_ engagement?" he questioned subtly, making it seem as if he were reading the lines from the book.

Kaldur sighed. "Something like that," he muttered.

"Hm…I need to know the details," The raven-headed boy put down his book and stretched, rolling his head back to look at Kaldur.

"Tch, why?" Kaldur jumped and stared at him defensively.

"Heheh, to know what to type into the system for why you're ditching," the other said innocently.

"There…is a private performance today." Kaldur carefully chewed out, trying to guess where Dick would take that before he spoke.

"Hey no fair!" the younger boy immediately pouted, jumping to his feet and darting around the corner of the bookcase. "she didn't invite me, or anyone else."

"…it is supposed to be closed auditions. With the entire group…" he paused and looked at Dick, arching his brow. "we would more than likely attract attention and get kicked out."

"…Hm. True I guess."

"Can you do it?"

"Tch, it's already done, don't be stupid. You're out in fifteen minutes."

…

_3:15pm_

"Ah, next we have Ms. Leal, Ms. Leal, you're on in five,"

Kaldur looked up to the ceiling, searching for the speakers. He'd caught about the half of the last dancer. Knowing little to nothing about dancing, he had no idea if she had done well or not, but her performance had been enjoyable at any rate. He settled into his seat, keeping low in the shadows least he be seen. He wanted to watch Cailan's audition; ergo he needn't get kicked out before she came on stage.

He folded his arms over the back of the seat in front of him, looking towards the judges. They had a table set up in front of the auditorium seats, with clipboard and papers; he didn't understand how they could be comfortable in the metal folding chairs, the wooden seat would be especially comfortable. They'd been there for a while, he assumed, if the sign was right and auditions had started at ten that morning. Kaldur sighed contentedly; hopefully the next eight minutes were crime-free.

…

Cailan heard her name called over the speaker. She looked around at the other girls; it was the 'ladies' changing room and no two girls looked the same. She felt rather underdressed in comparison to the other girls and she had to scold herself. She knew she was psyching herself out, as if she didn't want to be there. She wanted a distraction from the scenario, that was all; she wanted to be there, she just didn't want to know or think about being there. She didn't want the memories.

Forcing herself to stand she began stretching. She needed something to do; five minutes was a long time to kill. If she stretched she could focus on the evenness of her breath. She didn't want her heart pounding like it was. Her chest hurt and it wasn't helping to calm her nerves. She'd never technically auditioned for anything before. In high school, well, those auditions had been a joke. She'd known she was better than most of those girls so she wasn't afraid to be rejected.

_Geez, conceited much?_ Her mind growled as she reached down and touched the floor with her palms, then lifted to her toes. She let out an exhale with the tension in her hams and counted fifteen Mississippis. Stretching felt good.

"Ms. Leal, you're on. Ms. Leal to the stage," the speakers cracked. Her heart leapt into her throat.

Suddenly her palms were sweaty and she couldn't catch her breath. She straightened and walked towards the stage, still taking deep breaths. The CD she'd given the judges had the song she was dancing to, the one she'd rehearsed with Ms. Golrion. It also had other tracks that she'd had Dick mesh together for her for practice, in case something happened to the track from _Swan Lake. _She had her dancing shoes on, she was in fitted sweats over a leotard; the checklist went on, her hair pulled tightly back into a pony-tail, no jewelry (save for the anklet that was hidden safely under her pants), water back stage, her things put into her own cubby. She was ready for this. All the things on the checklist were checked off. She was ready for this.

She walked across the stage and took the required, polite curtsy to the judges for giving her the opportunity, just like Ms. Golrino had told her to do. But as Cailan was walking back to her starting point, when she looked up and saw the lights blinding her vision, she froze up.

…

_3:20pm_

Kaldur straightened and glued his eyes to the stage. Cailan was up, walking across the stage. He felt strangely proud that she wasn't dressed or dolled up like the other dancers he'd seen walking around and peering out from behind the curtains. She was dressed like he always saw her practicing. Somehow she looked far less pretentious than the other dancers who'd been flitting around the auditorium hall. There was humbleness in the modest curtsy she gave to the judges; he hoped that was what they were whispering to each other as she stepped back into position.

The music started playing and Cailan looked out into the audience; he knew she couldn't see him but he smiled at her anyways. However, fifteen seconds into the music and Cailan still hadn't started dancing. Kaldur straightened and looked at her hard. Her eyes were unblinking, and she wasn't moving. She'd frozen up.

Twenty seconds in and Kaldur knew the judges' whispers were about to lead to her dismissal. _What is she thinking? It is not the time for a dramatic pause…why is she so frightened?_

Not knowing what else to do and wanting to be there for her, Kaldur's tattoos started glowing, illuminating him as he sat off to the side in the dark. It only took a few seconds before Cailan blinked and looked over towards him.

…

The light, the sun's light screaming off to her left through the window. She was telling her dad they needed to hurry. They were going to be late. His eyes, his eyes met hers in the rearview mirror; then she was blinded. The light was so bright, so bright she couldn't see anything. It was a white out.

They crashed. They'd crashed on their way to an audition, her audition. She'd wanted them to go faster, she'd yelled at them. She'd made them crash the car.

Something blue interrupted the blinding white that pervaded her senses. There was a blue glow to her right—where the cliff walls should have been…

Cailan looked and saw that it was Kaldur, sitting in the dark auditorium. She was on a brightly lit stage…not that crash.

"I'm sorry." Cailan lowered herself to flat-foot on the stage and shook her head. The judges looked up at her, their faces blank.

"It's the wrong track,"

"Whoever signed you in wrote track one on the front Ms. Leal," was the cold reply.

"Yes, I'm sorry, the CD's been miss-marked. It's track three."

A man turned off the CD player and the three talked in whispers together, shooting her looks and debating among themselves. Cailan looked in Kaldur's direction (he'd stopped glowing) and gave a small smile.

"Ms. Leal you've got one more chance. Don't make us regret it." The man's cold voice spoke again.

She nodded and stepped back into position—different from before.

The music that started playing from the speakers was different was well; while along the lines of _Swan Lake_, it was subtly different—it was a recent song, a modern composition. Cailan started with spins and jumps, her limbs like willow branches in the wind, loose and delicate. She would leap into the air and she seemed to hover there, like she had wings. She had the grace to make it look as if she were hardly skimming the earth as she danced.

As the music crescendo-ed her 'audience' got another surprise. Reaching the climax point of the composition, Cailan fell to the ground. Kaldur stood, worried she was hurt. However, when the judges made no move to shut off the music and he took a second glance, he realized that it had been an intentional move. This all took hardly the blink of an eye when the music's climax bled over into a modern song that Kaldur recognized quiet well.

The beat built up and Cailan pulled her body up from the floor; her movements were still graceful, but there was a new passion—a new life in the way she moved to this music. Kaldur watched as a fire built inside of her; she was still dancing classical ballet—the juxtaposition of ballet and rock was enough to send the judges into a frenzy—but her movements were border-line careless, almost frantic. Yet the choreography sent chills down his spine, because it wasn't careless or frantic. Her face was the paradigm of control and focus, her eyes glittering with determination. Her three minutes was winding down, as well as her music and as the 'finishing move' she did a Jete grand, but her body was almost leaning to the side and it became more of an aerial spin and as she landed she continued the spin on her foot. The music began to ebb out into classical again, matching Cailan's dying movements. As the last notes sounded, Cailan was on the ground, her legs curled around her, her back to the judges. She was arched, her hands posed as if she were opening a door to the sky. The music died completely down and she paused for a moment before pulling her body around like a piece of cloth in the wind and righted herself, again curtsying. They talked amongst themselves for a while. "Thank you, Ms. Leal. That will be all." Kaldur watched her give another little curtsy and then walk calmly off stage. … _3:45pm_ "Cailan, you are trembling," Kaldur placed his arms around her, guiding her to a bench just outside the exit or the girl's changing room. "I totally blew it," she murmured, shaking her head. "…you are too hard on yourself. You did wonderfully." He sat down next to her

She bit her lip and shook her head again. "I totally choked. What's worse, I told them they were wrong."

"…why did you freeze?" he questioned, looking sidelong at her on the bench.

He watched her squirm under his gaze. She scuffed the toes of her shoes along the ground and chewed on her lip. "I just…got distracted by a memory…"

"Cailan, why can you not talk to me?" his voice was a little colder; he couldn't help his frustration.

He watched her draw into herself a little more and only felt more egged on. "You close yourself off; why? Do you not know that I care for you, have I not made it obvious?"

She swallowed hard and he recognized the smile that came to her face; she was gone now. "Sorry, I'm just being a spaz. You're right, I probably just psyched myself out."

He sighed heavily.

"What did you ask me on the phone?" he asked, his voice soft now.

Her head jerked up and her eyes were wide as she looked at him, her face a rosy red. He couldn't help but chuckle as she blushed and nervously laughed at herself. "Oh…uhm…"

She rubbed her hands nervously on her pants and looked at just about everything except him. He laughed at her and placed his large, warm hand over hers. "What did you say?"

"I…I just asked a stupid question."

His eyes probed her on. "I…just needed to feel good about myself and I…I asked…I asked if you loved me."

He froze, his eyes open in shock. "But it doesn't matter, I was only asking because I wanted to hear that I was…well, I dunno Important I guess." She quickly continued, looking hastily away from him.

Kaldur looked at her long and hard. He hadn't realized that Cailan was so…self conscious. It was a flaw he'd not counted on in Cailan—Ms. Queen-bee Cailan, school-idol Cailan. He reached over and gently drew her face to his.

…

"Ms. Leal, the car is re—" Alfred stopped and turned his back on the two teens. "Ahem, when you're ready," he muttered as he walked away.

Kaldur distantly heard the remark and attempted to pull away, but Cailan—having only known 'normal' teenage guys—didn't even notice Alfred and leaned further into the kiss, becoming the aggressor. Her mind and her gut weren't telling her to just wait for him to make his move; instead she was relying on her past mistakes to navigate her way now, which was something that Kaldur in fact, wasn't quite ready for.

"C-Cailan," Kaldur placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back from him. "…"

Her brow furrowed slightly, not totally understanding. Her eyes searched his face, looking for what he was playing at. She straightened, turning away from him a little, feeling a sting of dejection.

"I am sorry…but this is not how I do things" Kaldur said softly, trying to console her sudden change of heart.

"Right. Alfred said the car's ready,"

"Do not do that," Kaldur caught her arm and drew her back around.

"…what?" she questioned that smile.

"_That_. You put up walls when someone gets too close. I hate that smile."

She stood, blinking at him. He regretted his outburst for the stunned look on her face. "You want me to stop smiling?"

She attempted to joke but he could sense she was licking her wounds and covering, buying time for herself.

"Do not be coy with me Cailan."

"We should go," she easily twisted from his grasp and walked towards the car, turning back to look at him as if to say 'well, aren't you coming?'

…

_Friday the 24__th__ of March_

_12:45am _

"We are trying a new plan of attack this time," Kaldur said as they boarded Megan's ship, looking to Dick who smiled back at him. "We are going to lose."

The team stopped and stared at him, thinking they'd misunderstood or that he was joking with them.

"We're going to lose?" Artemis demanded. "Doesn't that go against what we're actually supposed to do?"

"No. We're going to reuse an old ploy." Dick jumped in, grinning broadly. "Megan, your uncle said that your mind is the strongest he's known. We're going to use it."

Megan faltered a step, and looked around at the group. "I-I don't think that's a good idea…"

"We're counting on you to make this work Megan," Robin said, his face sobering.

"I—I'm not sure I can even control it yet…something could go wrong, just like before. I think this is a bad idea."

"M'gann," Kaldur's rich voice soothed. "You have the ability and your friends are here for you. You will be able to do this,"

"She doesn't want to." Conner growled, crossing his arms protectively.

Kaldur sighed. "This is our plan. The team goes in, covertly just as we always do. We will fight, just as we always do. However, we will not win. We will convincingly stage a retreat, and withdraw from the fight."

"How does that accomplish our mission?" Wally asked, cocking his head at Kaldur. "I mean, we're supposed to take out Ivy, right?"

"Remember the operation with the Terror Twins?" Robin cut into the question. "Megan and Superboy switched places with the real twins."

"M'gann will do the same thing with one of Ivy's 'children'. While she is undercover she will garner information from Ivy and her 'children', and pass the information to us via telepathy."

"That still isn't stopping Ivy with her plan," Artemis said, her hands on her hips.

"That's when the second wave hits," Robin interjected. "When Megan gives the go, we'll come back and attack again."

"I get it; Ivy won't think twice about attacking us again—she'll assume we'll be beaten just like last time." Wally's eyes glowed, his face brightening. "We're hustling her,"

"I can only use my telepathy within a certain distance." Megan said, thinking she'd found a way out of the situation.

"We won't leave you alone." Superboy said, his voice of a tone that didn't leave much room for argument.

"No, we will not." Kaldur confirmed, motioning everyone towards their seats in the ship. "Wally will find a place to hide near Ivy's base. He will receive the information and then run it to the rest of us. We'll be waiting just outside of range."

"How long will this take?" Superboy asked, his blue eyes glancing askance to Megan.

"…well…that's the one catch…" Robin looked to Kaldur, then to the rest of the team.

"It will take as long as it takes." Kaldur said, again taking control of the conversation again. "Wally will be there to get Megan out should something go wrong. His speed will get him in, to Megan and out again while the rest of us can get there. It is dangerous, but we are heroes. We live with this danger every time we go on a mission."

"Alright, I'll do my best," Megan nodded, her eyes determined as she looked up.

…

_2:54am_

"I thought the wonder-brats were stronger than this!" Ivy hissed, spreading her arms wide as vines assaulted the team.

Megan let herself be hit and knocked into the bushes that coated the floor of the greenhouse-layer. Staying down she camouflaged herself, and slipped back to the edge of the battle, offering no assistance just like she was ordered.

"M'gann!" Superboy screamed, jumping into the bushes soon after her.

"Ah-ah-ah," Ivy gloated, using a tree's branch to catch him in the stomach and send him crashing into the grips of another tree's gargantuan trunk.

"What happened to the strength you possessed when you fought the League of Shadows?" the red-headed woman demanded, her eyes narrowing to slits.

"Now!" Kaldur yelled, catching her off guard.

The woman spun around in time to see Robin flying towards her; thinking she'd acted quickly enough she attacked him with a barrage of razor-leaves, causing him to divert his attack to the cover of the thickly barked trees that she'd grown in the layer. While she was distracted with Robin, Kid Flash launched himself at her and used her own vine-attack to wrap her briefly up in a vine-cocoon.

Superboy was up and roaring, shredding Ivy's precious 'babies' left and right. Megan crouched deeply in the corner, hoping that her absence wasn't noticed by the woman.

Robin and Artemis found that their particular skills were only useful in blowing up or cutting down Ivy's plants—usually on defense. Kid Flash was having a rather easy time of things just dodging Ivy's arsenal; Superboy's strength was a great asset, but was merely working 'idle hands'. Kaldur would have been probing Ivy for questions, if he had been able to get close to her to parry. The young team was finding that its strategy of retreat might not be as hard to fake as they'd originally supposed.

…

"Hm, my, you are a handsome Atlantian." Ivy purred, wiggling her fingers, ordering her vines to lunge and gouge out at him.

Kaldur dodged and swayed, avoiding her plants and making attempts with his own malleable weapons. "What are you up to Ivy? You cannot have gotten out on your own," he murmured softly at her, his feet sliding him into position ever so subtly.

"Oh no, no, no," the woman giggled, using her vines to lock his arms and hold him in place. "None of that my handsome Prince,"

She blew a kiss at him, her spores taking immediate effect, his once crystalline eyes clouding a murky green.

"Uh, guys," Robin said, jumping away from Kaldur's now electrifying swings. "We've got a slight problem,"

"What?" Kid Flash asked, jolting to a stop.

"Move!" Robin pushed him out of the way, escaping with a flesh wound and static shock.

"What the heck, Aqualad!" Artemis growled, shooting an arrow at his feet that issued forth a smoke screen.

"He's infected with Poison Ivy's spores!" Robin said, knowing all too well the power that Ivy had over men—Batman was not easy to evade.

"What do we do to un-infect him?" Superboy asked, his eyes briefly wandering around in search of Megan.

"Water."

"But he controls water," Artemis protested. "If he's under Ivy's control then there's no way she'll let us use it to free him."

"Just shut up and fight!" Superboy leapt into the air and landed just shy of smashing Kaldur.

"Ivy's plants can't survive without water!" Robin called, skirting out of the way and shedding bombs on the major tree-roots near them.

"Tch, duh," Kid Flash rolled his eyes and created a small whirlwind to pull up the smaller plants. "We pull up the plants and get to the water!"

"Rrraaaaaahhhh!" Superboy yelled as he grabbed the trunk of Ivy's main tree and strained, lifting with all his strength.

"My baby! Stop them!" Ivy screamed, motioning Kaldur forward. "Don't let them hurt my baby!"

Kaldur nodded and lunged, kicking Artemis hard in the chest and sending her flying.

"Artemis!" Kid Flash yelled, switching directions and charging forward to catch her.

"Arg, really W—Kid Flash? Get off me," The blond fought a blush and pushed KF away, standing again. She doubled over, her hand over her chest, gasping.

Kaldur was going for Superboy now, their hands interwoven together, their muscles straining against one another. Superboy was the stronger, but Kaldur put his mind behind his strength and kept maneuvering Superboy so that he was at the disadvantage, thus evening the odds of his brute strength against Kaldur.

…

_4:02am_

"I am sorry my friends," Kaldur said, pressing a cloth to his forehead as they took their seats in Megan's ship.

"It isn't your fault," Kid Flash said, taking a snack from his emergency-compartment and munching on it.

"We're all normal now. There's nothing we can do at the moment." Robin said, typing away furiously on his computer. "KF you need to get ready, Ms. Martian will be expecting you."

"At least we know the retreat went well. Ivy didn't know anything." Superboy said confidently.

"Yes…but we may not be able to use this tactic again…" Aqualad mused, steepling his fingers together. "It worked tonight…but Ivy is sure to tell her success story to other villains. Not to mention how dangerous it was. I got too close to the fire, so to speak."

"True, but we didn't get burned this time. Besides, it gives us a chance to look back on what went wrong for next time." Artemis said, resting her chin on her folded arms.

"Kid Flash, you'd better get going," Aqua-lad said, smiling at Artemis.

…

_Wednesday the 29__th__ of March,_

_8:01pm_

"That was good work on the Ivy case." Black Canary was saying. "You're using your training well."

"Thanks, it means a lot to hear someone say that," Conner said, his eyes darting around to make sure the others weren't listening.

The woman smiled at him and departed through the portal.

"So how's Cailan doing?" he asked as he walked back into the living room, flopping on the couch.

Kaldur paused from his private sorcery practice, his eyes glossing to the living room.

"She got a call-back from the Troupe," Dick shrugged, casually flipping through a magazine.

"So what does that mean?" Megan asked, putting down the nail polish, deciding she didn't like it much after all.

"She's been practicing like a Nazi again." he answered. "I think the plan is for her to go back on Saturday, and they'll make their decision."

"Dude, it's like she abandoned us," Wally pouted, winking at Megan and sitting next to her. "Nice shade for you babe,"

"Stop being such a baby Casanova," Artemis said, rolling her eyes at him.

"Let us not worry about Cailan," Kaldur said, keeping his breathing even and letting the water flow almost wickedly through his hands. "Enjoy the peace while we have it. We do not know when we will next be called."

…

_Saturday the 1__st__ of April_

_1:20pm_

"Thank you for coming to see us Cailan," the man from before, his voice still cold, addressed her as she walked on stage.

She nodded and swallowed hard.

"On your last audition…" he looked at his notes and then scoffed and looked up. "I realized I don't need my notes to remember your performance."

A shiver ran up her spine; he had quite a sardonic tone to his voice and laced his fingers together. "You had the wrong music and froze, didn't you?"

His question was rhetorical, and she waited for the rest. "You're eventual performance was not of the traditional order; you were unrestricted, wild, and you completely ignored more traditional routs."

She hardly let herself blink; her head was held high and she prayed that her face was stoic. She wouldn't cry in front of them.

"However," she felt her breath catch; his eyes flicked up to her and glowed brightly. "I could see a story behind your dance and felt the passion. You're very talented, I'll give you that. Your teacher, Ms. Golrino speaks highly of you."

There was a long pause in which Cailan held her breath; she felt light headed, and the glare of the stage-lights wasn't helping any.

"Ms. Leal, if you join this troupe, it is like selling your body and soul. You belong to this troupe, you will breathe this troupe, you will live this troupe. Are you ready to make that commitment, Ms. Leal?"

She didn't even hesitate. "Yes."

…

_2:34pm_

"I start with the troupe on Monday." Cailan said, slowly slipping onto a bench behind where Kaldur was practicing sorcery.

Kaldur paused, letting the water he was working with fall back neatly into the large basin at his feet. He turned slowly, his face blank. "I told you you had nothing to worry about,"

"I know,"

"I would have thought you would be more excited, this is what you wanted, is it not?" he asked, his voice like rich velvet.

"…eh, the victory's a little tainted…" she shrugged, giving him a small smile.

It was so fragile; he wanted to move closer, to do something to keep it from breaking. "Why do you say that?"

"Because we're fighting."

He couldn't help but laugh at her frankness. Maybe she'd never stop surprising him. "We are not fighting."

He saw her relax as he sat down next to her, his hands leisurely gripping the edge of the bench. They were silent for a moment; his mind was itching to question her again about the story of the boy, about why she'd frozen up at her audition. Instead he asked her how she'd gotten back to the hideout.

"Robin brought me. I told him I wanted to talk to you."

"And he did not tease you about it?" Kaldur asked, his surprise overriding his attempts to be stern.

She laughed. "He's like a little brother to me of course he did. I just asked him about a girl from school that he knows and he shut up. Kaldur, am I your girlfriend?"

With a nervous laugh he questioned back "Is it not obvious?"

"Does…it bother you if your friends know?"

He was quiet a moment, sitting there and thinking. Was he in fact bothered if the others knew? He felt oddly confronted with her question and decided he needed a long moment to puzzle out his answer.

"I suppose you and I are quite alike; I keep my personal matters to myself, if I can. It would not bother me if they find out, but I am still inclined to keep it between us,"

He looked over and saw a smile gleaming from her eyes, felt her fingers trace over the back of his hand. "I'm going to be really busy…being part of a professional dance troupe is a bit like giving up your life Kaldur. I won't have much time for anything else…_anyone _else. I'll understand if you don't want to keep things the way they are; you deserve someone who'll have time for you."

Kaldur laughed, drawing brief attention from Artemis and Conner in the other room. "Do not be foolish. It is not as if being a hero has offered me much opportunity either."

"You've done alright," he watched her face darken. "So…how will we make it work?"

"Hm…" he turned his hand over and grasped hers, his thumb rubbing gently over her skin. "I suppose I will have to give up my life of heroism. It is a life of thievery for us,"

She giggled tossed her hair nervously. "Hm, sounds riveting and dangerous…but why thieves?"

"Well…I am not one to give up easily, even if our careers take dedication. If we are going to make this work, we will have to steal moments like this."

"Kaldur…that was either the cheesiest line I've ever heard, or the cutest," she giggled, lacing their fingers together.

"Maybe this will help you decide?" he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss, before standing and resuming his studies. "Congratulations, Cailan,"

…

_Saturday the 15__th__ of April,_

_1:09pm _

"Again." Demetri ordered, his cold voice echoing through the dance studio.

Cailan was thankful that it wasn't her. She was good—Demetri had told her that much upfront when he'd told her she'd gotten into the troupe, but there had been no way in hell they were going to give her a big part in the upcoming production. After seeing the way he worked, she was thankful she wasn't given a large part in the next performance. She was content to be one of the 'dancer's chorus'. Especially as she was watching Demetri humiliate one of the leading girls.

Apparently, most everyone was used to his behavior, which included the girl under his intense direction. While her face was bright red with embarrassment, her eyes didn't tear up or look wildly around for help. Instead she weathered his cold, ordering voice, attempting to obey as he instructed her through her main part in the dance. He was brutal.

"Again!"

Cailan found herself flinching as he yelled at the other girl—Vanessa, she thought. The young woman took a deep breath and lifted to the tips of her toes, letting her arms and pull outward, starting with her elbows and flowing through to her wrist and fingers. Carefully she lifted one leg in front of her, still hesitant but trying to focus her movements. Her leg trembled with her weight and her nerves; her arms lifted over her head and she leaned back. She didn't make it far before she started falling and brought her leg down to steady herself again.

"Wrong. Again Vanessa." He barked coldly, pacing around the young woman, never looking at her, speaking at her, not to her.

"Demetri," she sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "I'm tired. You're not he—"

"If you can't do it now, how can you do it for our performance. Shall I find someone else here who can, Vanessa?" he cut her off, crossing his arms and examining the rest of the dancers he'd grouped around the stage.

She huffed a stray strand of hair from her face. "If you think you can," she muttered tersely.

He smirked and walked slowly around the stage, examining the girls. Some raised their heads in haughty determination to be chosen to outshine a lead dance. Others shrank into the shadows, terrified to be humiliated in front of the entire troupe. Cailan was with these, stepping back away from Demetri's gaze.

"Jenifer," He said, stopping and turning to the assistant choreographer. "Who's that new girl we just signed on? Get her up here."

Cailan winced.

…

Her hands balled into fists Cailan stepped forward, not realizing she held her breath.

"Do you think you can do a better job of this than Vanessa, or is my whole troupe a failure."

"I—I….I wouldn't know the moves D-Demetri." She said, not looking up.

To her surprise he laughed, eliciting a few chuckles from the surrounding people. "My dear girl, I'm not asking you to tell us of your novice skills. Do you, think, you can do a better job, than Vanessa?"

She closed her eyes and let her breath out slowly. "No."

The twittering among the crowd stopped and even Demetri paused for a moment to look at her. "But you're going to ask me to anyways, so it doesn't really matter, does it?" she turned her head to look at him and swallowed.

He cracked a smile and arched a brow. "My, my, clever girl. You catch on quick,"

…

_Sunday, 16__th__ of April_

_7:56pm _

"He said we _can't!_" Raggity-Anne said, grabbing Baal's arm.

He glared at her and jerked is arm away, narrowly missing her face with his elbow. "We can take her now."

"Joker said to wait,"

"What the hell for! She's there now, the stupid little bitch. I'll giver what's coming to her and then _Uncle Joker_ can do what he likes with her."

"Baal if you ruin his plans he'll kill you. If you just listen to him you'll get your revenge too. Not yet," she soothed, cooing to him in his ear, drawing her fingers up over his arm gently.

"Fine. Get off." He gave her a rough shove into the building's roof-edge. "Keep an eye on her carefully. Follow her _everywhere._ Don't take your eyes off of her for a second."

Cailan walked out of the rehearsal room, running her hands through her hair and taking a deep breath of the April air. Demetri had bumped her up a ranking in the troupe; it was a step up from a chorus dancer and it wasn't the responsibility of a lead role. She could handle that. Or she thought she could when she accepted the new part. She'd just needed a breather.

A shiver ran down her spine and she looked around the alley way, out to the street. She felt like she was being watched.

…

_Wednesday, 19__th__ of April_

_6:00am _

"Why are you wasting my time?" Demetri paced the floor. "Why, why do you do this to me? How many successful performances have we put on? How many times has our audience given a standing ovation to my dancers? So why people, why do this to me, why worry my reputation?"

"From the top?" Jenifer asked him as he walked by, her hands on her hips, sweat dripping down her neck.

"No. Give them a break. Take if from the second half," he gave a flourish of his hand and walked off stage, back to his own room.

Cailan grimaced. They were only half an hour in and Demetri had already worked the main cast to utter fatigue. Like she knew would happen Jenifer called out her own group to start rehearsing; while not as aggressive as Demetri in her correction methods, Jenifer wouldn't hesitate to call one out on a short coming.

…

_10:37pm_

"Cailan," the girl froze and looked up from packing her gym-bag, glancing around at the other girls.

"Yes?"

"I'd like to talk with you; come with me," Demetri said, opening his hand in gesture for her to follow him.

Gripping her bag over her shoulder Cailan again glanced at the other girls before walking towards the door to follow her dance instructor. Her heart was like rapid gunfire in her constricting chest; she was either getting bumped from the troupe or he was going to make some weird advance towards her that she wasn't looking for, and either was enough to make her feel sick.

"Cailan, you're a very gifted dancer," Demetri began, following her into his own private office, crossing his arms over his chest and looking contemplatively at the ground.

She held her breath, waiting for the impending drop.

"And I've put a lot of consideration into what I've decided about where your dancing career will go," his snarky eyes leaped up from the floor and glared into her own; she felt her head go light and her vision start swimming in front of her. "How would you like to have a go at our modern ballet sub-troupe?"

Cailan blinked at him, unsure of what she'd just heard. His laughing snapped her back to herself and her face burned with humiliation at ogling like a goldfish. "What…do you mean?"

"You've dedicated a lot of time and effort to our main troupe here; it'll be an added commitment, but I believe you would benefit from working with Marci at our up-town studio. It's modern dancing, and a small troupe of around fifteen people. Occasionally, I'll send her dancers for one of her performances, or they'll come and help with mine. However, I'd like you to go and perform for her upcoming show on the twenty-eighth."

"…That's…that's not a lot of time Demetri…" she stuttered, not sure what else she should say; modern ballet? All she'd ever known was classical.

"No. It isn't. I suggest you meet with her first thing tomorrow."

…

"_And…? _What _else_ do you clowns have to report to me?" Joker questioned, his face pulled tight over his grinning teeth.

"Calm down Mista. J," Harley giggled, throwing her arms over his shoulders.

He threw her off of him and rounded on the younger punks. "You morons! I should—"

"Baal's back," a masked clown said through the door of Joker's office.

Joker's grin spread in malicious anticipation. "Send him in,"


	21. Saturated Lungs

_**A/N: I LOVE you guys! Your reviews make me want to sit down and type the heck out of my computer. I do apologize for how long it's been taking me to get the chapters out however. My life is just one heap of crazy right now; it really means so much to me that you all enjoy this story so much. (lyrics from: h t t p : / / w w w . a z l y r i c s . c o m / l y r i c s / e n r i q u e i g l e s i a s / h e a r t b e a t . h t m l)**_

_**[ps. I believe I have gotten the mixed-chapters-fiasco all sorted. If not let me know asap please]**_

_Wednesday, 2__nd__ of May_

_7:57pm_

"So when's this thing start, anyways?" Artemis demanded, shifting uncomfortably in her dress-slacks.

"Like the speaker said two minutes ago, it'll start in five minutes. Has it been five minutes?" Wally asked, rolling his eyes and looking smug.

"…No." she growled back, clenching her jaw and rolling her eyes.

"Then stop asking," Conner said absently, pulling at his collar.

"And you stop fidgeting," Megan said, gently slapping at the hand that was pulling.

"Man, it was nice of her to invite us," Wally said looking around and eyeing the food.

"Of course she invited us, don't act so surprised." Dick said, glancing boredly around the room.

"Wha—geez when'd you get here?" Wally demanded, jumping at the ninja-esk boy's appearance.

"What're you talking about, I've been here the entire time," the younger boy smirked.

"Filling in for the big man?" Wally rolled his eyes as he questioned.

"Mr. Wayne couldn't be here tonight, so he asked Alfred and me to represent him," Dick said casually.

"So, excited for the performance Kaldur?" Dick asked innocently, smiling.

Kaldur shot him a side-glance. "Yes, Cailan seemed very excited for this; it is her first performance as a part of Gotham Troupe,"

Artemis looked closer at her leader, did she notice a slight flush to his cheeks?

The lights dimmed and everyone began hushing. Music started playing and people dressed in head to toe black walked out and laid down mats. The audience stepped back, clustering closer together. Artemis was bumped and turned to see Wally, being apologized to. She relaxed, seeing it wasn't his fault.

_He's…warm…_ she began thinking, remembering their near-catastrophic mission in the desert. _And despite his totally scrawny looks, he's awfully strong too…_

The lights over the audience went fully out and spot lights over the mats struck on. The mirrors at the back of the studio reflected the light back to the audience, showing them their own shadowy faces in front of the spatter-painted-cement wall they stood in front of. Megan was marveling at the pretty and unique setting—it was something she'd never seen before; Conner was glaring around at all the people who were crushing in around him—making him more claustrophobic by the second; Artemis was shaking her head and washing away her sudden thoughts of Wally—he was just an annoying kid she'd gotten stuck with as part of her team, nothing more; Dick was glancing around, taking note of everything—the only way to never be surprised by an attack was to be constantly on the alert, expecting to be attacked; Wally was stealing glances at the food table—he was debating whether he could make it to the table and back without being noticed; Kaldur was staring at the mats, waiting for Cailan to appear and start dancing—she was a beautiful dancer.

_[Enrique]  
><em>Heartbeat

The lights flickered over the mats, and the one over the left went out for a brief few seconds. It came back on with the pulse of the music, and when it had there was a male danger standing there, clothed only in fitted sweat-pants (or male-leggings).

_[Enrique]  
><em>Heartbeat

It was the same for the right side of the mats; they went out and came on with the pulse of the music, and when they'd come back on there was a man standing there. This man was in mid-thigh shorts that hugged his legs closely.

_[Enrique & Nicole]  
><em>Heartbeat Heart-heartbeat

When it happened a third time it was a female dancer who'd appeared on the mats in front of the audience. She was curled up, only her back and arms exposed to the audience.

_[Nicole]_  
>Heartbeat<p>

At the next beat the girl had gracefully rolled onto her back, her legs still under her, her arms above her head, her eyes closed.

_[Enrique]_  
>Heartbeat Heart-heartbeat<p>

The men turned to the girl, the man on the right had his left hand over his heart, the man on the left had his right hand over his heart while their opposite hands moved so that they were positioned over the young woman's body. As the song used musical beats to imitate heart palpitations, the men moved their hands, making it look as if the girl's heart were forcing their hands to move. On the last beat Cailan's upper torso rose up the floor, her shoulders and neck slumping backwards until she rose to her feet, as if pulled up by invisible strings.

_[Enrique]_  
>I saw you talking on the phone,<br>And know that you were not alone.  
>But you stealing my heart away,<br>Yeah you're stealing my heart away.

The crowd let out a collective gasp and tittering fit of clapping; Cailan was supporting her body in a very Matrix-esk pose, with most of her body parallel to the floor. It lasted only a moment however, before her counterpart on the right reached a very well muscled arm under her lower back and, keeping to the theme, made his hand look like it was causing her heart to beat. Slowly he pulled her up until she was standing normally; her eyes opened and he spun her gently around, keeping an arm around her lower waist the entire time—steadying her as it were, because she was dancing on the tips of her toes. The dancer Cailan was with twisted her around in his arms and let his hands support her from behind, moving them—to Kaldur's dismay much like a lover would—up and down her sides, occasionally gripping her just under her bust to lift her and move her when the other male dancer drew close to the two, following the song.

_[Nicole]_  
>You're acting like you're on your own,<br>But I saw you standing with a girl (hmmm)  
>Stop tryin' to steal my heart away<br>Stop tryin' to steal my heart away

The male in the long pants would dance in a sneaky fashion towards the couple, and then the male paired with Cailan would—just before Cailan and the other man collided—spin her or pick her up and move her out of the way, as if keeping her all for himself.

Kaldur felt his face growing a little red. Cailan was in compression shorts over a leotard and a sheer skirt; she was in compressions shorts, a leo and sheer skirt with men several years older than her with their hands all over her body. As he watched the first man picked her up and ran his hand from her leg up her chest to her neck. His hands clasped behind her and he spun her around, hardly holding her at all. The crowd gasped as he did so, her legs straightened to her side, offering her no support.

_[Enrique]_  
>I don't know where we going?<br>I don't know who we are?

Towards the end of the song the man lifted Cailan above his head and passed her over, his hands supporting her only by her lower torso, then her thighs. The second man stood behind him, slightly shorter, supporting her in between her shoulder blades, letting her arms fall open to the side spread eagle. The first lowered her legs until he could draw them to his side, holding her at her knees while the second man lowered still. Cailan was left by the end of the song supporting herself with only her abdominal muscles, her hand not quite touching the first man's face, her other hand having just pushed the second man away. Kaldur felt a little like boiling over.

…

_9:08pm_

"Kaldur what is _with _you?" Artemis asked, pulling him slightly aside from the others.

"…I suppose…I have decided that I do not care much for _contemporary _ballet…" his voice held a slight edge and she didn't press him.

Cailan was positively glowing, the center of the crowd's attention. Kaldur couldn't get close, which did nothing to improve his mood.

"Hey man, where are you going?" the Wall-man asked cheerfully, his green eyes flickering.

"Home." He took a deep breath and turned to face his friends. "I am…tired. Besides, we will not be able to congratulate her until tomorrow. Goodnight,"

"…her?" Dick questioned, looking to the others. "Since when did he refer to Cailan as 'her'?"

"What do you mean?" Conner asked, his brow furrowed, forgetting his collar for the moment.

"Uh…nothing." Dick said, shaking his head. "Well, it's good to know that I've got a good report for Mr. Wayne."

"Yeah, Cailan was perfect," Wally said, nearly drooling as he continued staring at the 'stage' at the front of the room, which was now empty and dark.

"Tch. You are such a womanizer Wally," Artemis growled, tossing her head contemptuously and turning away; her anger began to boil out again. _Perfect Cailan, beautiful Cailan. Cailan, Cailan, Cailan. Stupid barbiedoll-princess-queen-bee-bi—_

"Are you alright Artemis?" Megan asked, placing a Caucasian hand on her friend's suited shoulder.

Artemis jerked violently away. "Fine." She still wasn't too happy with the Martian either; Megan and Superboy—it bit hard at the blond. Not only had she been left in the dark to go on day dreaming about her crush and playing subtly for him while all the while he was probably laughing at her with his girlfriend Megan, but Megan didn't consider her a trusted enough friend to even let her know and save her the embarrassment. "I've got to get home too."

"You know," Conner said as he, Wally, and Dick grouped together, looking at Megan and Artemis' retreating back, "Aside from the supposed 'mole' that Kaldur kept from us a while ago, Cailan has really been the only thing to successfully tear us all apart."

"Hey! Don't say that! She hasn't done anything at all. It's not her fault that Artemis is an unforgiving, grumpy, jealous brat!" Wally flashed to anger, glaring at the super clone he stood next to.

"Artemis isn't unforgiving, or a jealous brat," Dick said, not mentioning grumpy, the blond could be rather grumpy. "But you wouldn't like it if the only thing Megan talked about was how awesome me or Conner was, totally ignoring you existed. Would you?"

"Don't be stupid. If Artemis is that sensitive, she needs to get over some issues," Wally rolled his eyes, his voice lowering again. "What's wrong with appreciating that Cailan is a good dancer?"

"Maybe the fact that you hit on her and just about every other girl you see?" Dick chuckled, shaking his head.

"Tch. Do not. Besides, there's nothing wrong with admiring girls."

"Well, you do not seem to admire Artemis much at all Wally," Megan said, tilting her head and letting her cheastnut hair swing back over her shoulder as she walked over to the group.

Wally's face went bright red. "Haha, don't admire her? What's there to admire. Sure, she's a good archer and I guess she contributes a good deal to our team and we're friends and all…but c'mon!"

"What?" Conner asked.

Wally got more red in the face (if that were possible) and tried to stutter out a good reason for it before simply changing the subject. "Well…do you think Kaldur was right? I mean…I don't wanna just leave Calie or anything, but we probably shouldn't hang around here if we're not even going to see her."

"Well…I could camoflauge and go to her dressing room and see if she can talk with us?" Megan suggested, looking at her group.

Dick shrugged. "As Bruce's rep. I can get back and talk to her all I want so it's up to you guys."

"Let's go with Dick's move…we don't want anyone to…figure out our 'extracurriculars,'" Wally said.

…

"I'm here to talk to Ms. Leal. I represent Mr. Wayne and Wayne Corp. I'm Richard Greyson," Dick said severely, hardly sending a glance through his shades to the man in the suit who blocked off the dancer's rooms from the main studio.

"I'll need to see some sort of identification and permission," the man said, looking around hesitantly, hoping a superior would show up soon so that he wouldn't have to deal with the kid himself.

"Tch. Fine. I suppose its better that you're so careful; Mr. Wayne wouldn't want anything to happen to his investment." Being fully prepared and used to such suspicions, Dick showed what the guard wanted to see and made his way towards Cailan's dressing room.

…

"I'm not really—"

"C'mon kid, we were perfect together out there tonight," Blain was saying, leaning heavily on the arms of her chair, blocking her exit.

"…we're both talented…" she conceded, not wanting to make enemies—especially so soon. "but…I don't think…I mean, the age and talent difference…and then there's my own situation… I—"

"Hahah. You're nineteen, right?"

"Eighteen,"

Blain ignored her and continued. "Nineteen is old enough to be making your own decisions. And talent wise? Look here kid, you wanna make it big you need to be working with people like me. People who've been around, who get noticed by scouts and producers and big shots; you need to be around people better than you if you want to improve.

"Think about all the new things I could show you," he leaned in on her seat closer.

"I thought you and Marci…well…I'm really not looking to get tangled up in anything. I just love dancing."

"Me and Marci is none of your business," Blain growled lowly. "C'mon kid, you can't tell me that you didn't like it out there, you and me, the way I held you—"

"You and Marci are my business if I don't want her to kick me out of the troupe. And what I felt out on that floor had nothing to do with _you_, so please don't try to tell me what I liked and what I want." She felt herself tremble though her voice seemed steady.

He stared hard at her for a moment and then let his eyes poor over her as she sat there. Her body flushed with a familiar sensation. She'd been with guys like him in high school. She knew what he was doing. Her whole body burned as she was suddenly naked under his gaze; she'd been visually undressed before. He wet his lips and slowly looked back up to her; Cailan tried to do her best to keep her own gaze even.

But this was what she knew. This was what was familiar. Weren't guys supposed to look at her that way? Wasn't that part of a strong relationship—desire? She could see that Blain obviously desired her. Sex was all that the male population thought about, or mostly thought about, right, isn't that what everyone said? They only wanted to get in your pants, right? Her body flushed—a sensation that she knew from walking down the halls of school—this was a normal feeling. Wasn't 'normal' considered 'right'?

"_Do you not know that I care for you, have I not made it obvious?"_ Cailan swallowed hard.

Blain raised a hand along the side of her face. She couldn't make herself move, one way or another. Jumping at the knock on the door she turned from him, finally.

"You need to leave. Right now Blain."

He was just straightening when Dick walked in. With a smirk the man leaned down and kissed her cheek.

"It was a pleasure to dance with you tonight Cailan. Congratulations on your first performance with us,"

"Who was that?" Dick questioned after Blain'd walked through the door.

"He was my lead partner for the performances tonight," she said; she knew he was puzzled by the tone of her voice. It wasn't her fault, she was having trouble speaking.

"Are you alright?"

"Haha, yes. Just a bit tired. As if dancing weren't hard enough there's the politics, right? But I guess you know a lot about it huh kiddo?" she smiled and stood, pulling her hair down carelessly from the fancy bun she'd had it in to dance. Dick watched her run her fingers through it, doing nothing to stop the slight wave and bounce it'd acquired from her up-do.

"You're really pretty Cailan," he said calmly; she froze and straightened.

"Heh, thanks man." She said, passing it off. Of course she was pretty, why else would guys drool over her like a dog does meat?

"No." she looked at him, startled at his ascertain. "You're not just attractive. You're pretty. Really, pretty."

Her brow furrowed slightly, not understanding him. "…thank you…"

"The other's want to talk with you, but I think you should finish whatever you need to here, and then let Alfred take you back home."

"I can't, I want to—"

"They'll understand. We're your friends. Besides, you've got your own things to sort out. Just go home and relax." He smiled to her, a smile that was oddly really comforting.

"Sure thing, Dick," she smiled, suddenly feeling really tired.

"Oh," he looked back with his hand on the door. "And if that creep gives you any more trouble, let me know and I'll make him regret it."

She uttered a little laugh through her shock and shook her head. "You're such a little brother,"

He chuckled to himself and opened the door. "Thanks Dick,"

He winked and gave her thumbs up before walking through the door.

…

"She'll have to catch up with us tomorrow. It's alright for us to go home." Dick said.

"Alright, well, guess I'll see you all tomorrow?" Wally said, half questioning, already starting towards the door.

Megan and Conner waved, waiting for Dick to go too so that they could walk back to a transport holding hands unashamed.

"It's time for me to get back too. I'll catch you guys later," he faked a yawn and walked outside, hailing a cab. He was going to Wayne corp. first.

With their friends all gone, Megan and Conner relaxed. She smiled shyly up at him and he smiled calmly back, placing an arm over her shoulders and, when she wasn't looking, tugging at his stupid collar. It was the last time he'd ever wear a dress shirt, he swore mentally.

…

_10:30pm_

Cailan was relieved when she finally made it out of the troupe building. She couldn't decide if she wanted to take Dick up on his offer or not; Blain was a total creep, and yet…

_Isn't that what Jake was like before you took a nose dive into this…thing with Kaldur? _

She held her breath on the thought of Jake. She'd had a pretty crazy run with him a few months back. It was his fault she knew Baal and Jack… Cailan shuddered at the thought of those two. But Jake…what had happened to Jake? There hadn't been anything in the papers about him, at least, nothing she noticed. Her friends hadn't mentioned anything. He'd virtually disappeared.

Cailan hadn't been anywhere near the same scene that she'd lived with Jake, but she hadn't heard even a whisper about the new drug Jake had been taking.

She shook her head and hurried a thanks to Alfred as she slid into the car. That drug had been… She shivered again. A few months ago she'd been shivering from its diluted but nevertheless potent effects; she'd shivered at the look on Jack's face, at Baal's intent…

"Are you finding yourself comfortable, Miss Leal?" Alfred started her out of her thoughts.

"Uh, y-yes. I'm just a bit tired from tonight,"

"Very good miss."

The girl settled back in the seat and looked out the window.

…

_11:02pm_

"You know you're driving him crazy, right?" Artemis' dry voice said from the shadow of the armoire in Cailan's room.

Cailan gasped and spun around and backed into her bed. "Artemis,"

"Did you hear me?" the blond took a step forward, her arms still crossed over her chest.

"Sorry I didn't reply as you scared the hell out of me," Cailan smiled her high-school-smile at the girl.

"You're driving them _both _crazy."

"…Hhokay, I'll bite." Cailan massaged her temples. "Who am I driving crazy?"

"That's a joke, right?" Artemis demanded, her eyes widening in anger.

Calie arched a brow at her, crossing her arms self-consciously.

"…Kaldur and—and Wally." The spitfire spat out. "Kaldur and Wally. You're driving them crazy. They're just dumb guys underneath all of their heroic talents—some pretty girl comes long, bats her stupid long eyelashes and they're like melting putty and you—you!"

Artemis stalked forward, eyes flashing.

Cailan flushed and sputtered, alternately furious and embarrassed.

"You're playing them! I can see you, working them over, batting your damn lashes—conning them and, and dazzling them and, and…and"

The blond was fuming now, glaring at Cailan. Cailan stood and stared at her—she looked totally blindsided, but she was debating whether to start screaming at Artemis or whether she should try and keep her cool and let it play out. She was supposed to be a mature young woman; eighteen years old and she was still unable to keep her temper.

"I'm not playing anyone, Artemis."

"Tch. Don't lie to me, I'm sick of people lying to me! I'm sick of people not trusting me!"

"…great, so this is therapy-time now?" Cailan scoffed; Artemis was a strong-willed, iron-minded, tough girl. Cailan wasn't expecting the hurt look to flash through the younger girl's eyes.

Calie sighed heavily, almost deflating as she did so. "Ar-Artemis…I didn't mean that…"

"…"

"I really didn't…I…crap." Cailan sat down heavily on her bed. "I'm not playing anyone. Wally is a friend, a good friend. He's a sweet kid, and I care about him. But he's just a friend, he's just…just a kid. Like you're a kid. And I could never play Kaldur…I—I just couldn't, not to him."

"You've got them eating out of the palm of your hand and you expect me to believe that?" Artemis demanded.

"What are you talking about?" Cailan threw her hands up and slumped backwards on her bed. "I'm tired and confused; not to mention, you did happen to scare the hell out of me by just appearing in my room. What do you want from me?"

It was a good question. What _did _Artemis want from Cailan? Punching her in the face seemed pretty good at the moment.

"Artemis, I know you haven't liked me from the start, but seriously? I'm not trying to hurt Wally and Kaldur…I mean, we… Why on earth would I hurt him?"

"I know people like you. You'd hurt him to get whatever the hell it is you want."

Cailan bolted up and hung her head in frustration. "Wally's a friend. Kaldur's the one guy who—"

She heaved a sigh and gave up. "Kaldur's the one guy who's never made me feel like I wasn't just a walking fun-bag. And Wally's a good friend who helped me to smile again. You want to know what it's like to not be trusted? Try being locked up in a place that you don't know, that you don't even know where it is, and no one but the people who took you know you're there. Try living with people who shoot glances and have conversations about ways that you could be manipulating the situation and relaying information back to some unknown enemy. Or, how about, you're put in danger just about every day for the sake of people who don't care about your protection for you, but so that you don't give them up? Artemis, I've got no idea what you've been through, what your life has been like or what your situation is with your team; I'm just trying to deal with my own baggage and not bring the only person who matters to me down in the process."

"Touching speech."

"Does nothing get through to you?" Cailan was on her feet now. "What, you want me to go, want me to disappear? Would that make you happy, making Kaldur miserable?"

"Wow, no conceit Ms. Princess. Why would he be 'miserable'?" Artemis had cooled off and leaned against the wall with crossed arms.

"The same reason you'd be, if Wally ever does get an actual girlfriend." Cailan was a little surprised at her own revelation, but knew she was right at the reacting performance Artemis gave, sputtering and glaring at her. "Artemis, I love Kaldur. And your team, they're kinda like one-big-family. You don't hate me 'cause you think I'm pretty, or that I'm better than you. You can't stand me getting in on _your_ family."

Cailan let the younger girl think about this, trying to keep herself calm enough and in 'the zone' so that she could keep up this brilliant line of thought as she took off her jacket and shoes and was working on a perfect exit into the bathroom.

"You know, if I were you, I'd probably hate me too." The dancer finally said, not looking at Artemis.

Artemis would know she was lying if she looked her in the face. It wasn't that Cailan would 'probably' hate herself. She _did_ hate herself. She'd killed her own parents, couldn't find a decent way (if there was such a thing) to break Wally's heart, and was constantly doing the wrong thing with Kaldur.

Feeling that at least her parting speech sufficed, she walked through the bathroom door and locked it. She felt oddly proud of the situation, feeling she'd handled it well. It was almost like a movie or a story—as if the words had been written out for her and she was just saying them from someone else's mind. Maybe that was what it was like to be eighteen; she'd never really bought into the whole 'superiority of thought' that adults had always fed her as a child, but maybe there was actually something to growing up , she was beginning to think.

Though, she didn't give herself the credit of having matured at age eight and grown up into a responsible 'adult' by age ten. She hadn't had a childhood, not really. Cailan wasn't feeling the effects of having said something 'smart' or 'adult'. She was living off the high of having an immature fight where she got to act like a bratty kid, at least for the moment.


	22. Drowning part one

_**A/n: Hopefully this'll finally be the start of the end. Be wary, dear readers. Enjoy and review!**_

_Tuesday, 8__th__ of May_

_12:09am_

"Cailan,"

The girl froze at the voice in the alley; it didn't help she didn't recognize it. Turning uneasily she took a step backwards, closer to the street. If she screamed, Alfred was at least there to call…someone.

"Hello?"

She shivered at the laughter and backed again towards the street.

"I wouldn't go that way. See, if you make a run for it, we're gonna have to kill that driver of yours." Patches said as she stepped forward from the shadows.

Cailan continued to back up; there were more people than just Alfred out front. He wouldn't die. However, Cailan continued backing up right up until she hit something soft and solid. Cursing mentally she felt hands grip her upper arms and push her angrily forward, into Patches. The girl was no less harsh and gave Cali a rough shove back into the gripping hands.

"Go ahead and kill me and get it over with," she said, pulling out of Baal's grasp and jerking around to face him.

The voices that now surrounded her erupted into laughter.

"Kill you?" Patches roared. "Hah! She really ain't too bright, guess looks ain't everything. We's ain't gonna kill ya,"

"Then what do you want?" she demanded, trying not to tremble and wishing she'd taken Kaldur up on his offer to meet her after rehearsal let out.

"Heh, why, we found your friend?" Baal said, grabbing her wrist hard and literally throwing her into a darkened corner.

Cailan felt her body collide with another and picked herself up, scrambling to look at whoever she'd fallen on, petrified that she'd see the worst. She froze when she did. Far from her darkest fears, she was surprised.

"J-Jake?" she stuttered, unable to stop herself from reaching out towards him.

His eyes flashed open and he snarled, lunging for her. She gasped and pulled away; Baal swung around and punched Jake, toppling him into the wall. Cailan looked closer at her previous boyfriend. His skin was thin and stretched, yellowed as if he hadn't seen the sun properly in ages. His eyes were shadowed with levels of purple, his teeth broken and greyed, his breath foul. He was thin, as if he hadn't eaten. And his eyes…his eyes were wild, like a maddened beast.

"What did you do to him?"

"Hahah! Us? He did it to himself. Product X. It's what he gets for testing what he was supposed to sell." Baal grinned down at her, his own breath not any better than Jake's.

"If you think I'll sell it you're even dumber than you look," she said, unable to look away from Jake.

He was slithering around, muttering and making inarticulate sounds. His eyes darted back and forth, wildly, his lips were chapped and continually moving, spittle dripping down to his dirty clothes. His hands clawed and picked at anything close to him.

"That's not what we want either, actually." Baal crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

"Then what the hell do you want?" Cailan's voice rose as she glared at him.

He snarled and grabbed her throat, slamming her into the wall.

"Baal!" Patches cried, grapping his arm; he reluctantly tore it from his prey's throat. "Don't talk to him like that you hussy little bitch."

The girl-clown struck Cailan—though not nearly as hard as Baal could have.

"Hussy is a noun, not adjective." Cailan rubbed her cheek, unable to stop herself; she'd never acted superior to anyone, yet here she was, trying to get in any slight she could against her attackers.

Was it because they were in fact rather stupid or because it was some primal thought of survival?

Whatever it was, it caused Baal to laugh, taking Patches' attention off of Cailan for the moment.

"We want you to answer a question for us," Baal said through his chuckling; Cailan's brow furrowed deeply.

_What are they playing at?_

"We need to know just how far you're willing to go to protect your friends," Baal said.

She starred at him. What 'friends' was he talking about?

"See, if you give us their names right now, we'll let you go. And, t'top it off, we'll give you back this pathetic worm. Who knows, the doctors might be able to do something with him," Patches said, hands on her hips.

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about," Cailan said, fighting the little thought she had gleaned.

"This ain't the time to act stupid," Baal growled, entwining his hand into her hair and pulling hard at the back of her head. "Jack!"

The figure of Cailan's nightmares emerged, his pumpkin-face marred with scars and dents, his flickering eyes set in a constant glare, his mouth a grotesquery of a sneer. In his hand was fire, spitting vengefully. Cailan tried to draw as far away as she could; Baal only laughed in her ear, not letting her move an inch.

"See, what's gonna happen is this. You either tell us your hero-friend's names, of you watch your boyfriend go up in flames,"

Cailan's mind was protesting the word 'boyfriend' before she had a chance to comprehend what Baal had just threatened.

"…what?"

"Heh. Thought that might get your attention. Your friends, those obnoxious little hero-wannabe's, the miniature-crime-fighters, the sidekicks—tell us their names."

"Or," Patches smirked, getting in her face "Watch your old f***-buddy burn to death."

"That's not fair! You can't threaten his life for information I don't have!" she pleaded, getting frantic.

If she wasn't careful, Jake's life would be on her hands; but to save him, she'd have to—

No.

"Don't act stupid," Baal pulled her up to her feet. "Remember when we crashed that prick Wayne's party? We know that those heroes were awfully protective of you,"

"Hah, that's what you're going on?" She shivered, hardly daring to hope. "The world's heroes saved me, so I must know their secret identities? Just like how you guys keep coming after me, so I must really know who you and the Joker are?"

"She's lying!" Patches screeched, egging on Jack to set the crazy boy on fire.

"No! Of course they protected me! I-I'm Bruce Wayne's protégé! H-He spent thousands on my dance schooling so he could invest money into the ballet for a profit…" she tried, spinning some story. The Joker had attacked Wayne enterprises on more than one occasion for a sliver of the vast profit that it had made over the past sixty years since Bruce's father had first started the company.

At that moment Cailan's cell started ringing softly; letting go of her hair he tore her jacket digging through her pockets for the device as he pushed her into Jack's death-grip. Cailan felt sick. She could sense the bloodlust enveloping her in his grasp. Baal finally found the cell and he smashed it on the ground, stomping it again for good measure.

"Ms. Leal?" Alfred called from a short distance away; she prayed he didn't come closer.

There was silence for a long while before Patches finally peered around the corner. "Clear," she said, her eyes shifting back to look at Cailan.

"Baal, what are we gonna do?" she asked. "Uncle Joker ain't gonna be happy if she doesn't know anything,"

"Shut up!" the leader roared. "She knows something."

Cailan tried to hold his gaze, to keep her eyes widened and scared. She did know something, and she was terrified that Baal could see that in her eyes. If he did…Jake was dead. Baal looked at her for what seemed like forever, his red rimmed eyes glowering down at her.

The Joker would not be pleased if he didn't come back with the information he was supposed to be getting. Baal could lose his life for this…among other valuable things. He would be subject to torture before his unavoidable death.

"Cailan," he husked out, his eye narrowing with calculation. "You've got one last chance to give them up before you begin to regret existence."

"I can't tell you what I don't know," she whispered, close to tears; her pulse was speeding because she knew in her gut what was coming.

"…tell anyone what happened," Baal whispered, leaning in close so the other's of his party couldn't hear. "And I'll do things to you that would make any man sick to his stomach to be with you again,"

Baal straightened and looked her over one last time before he told Jack to let her go. Jack pushed her away into the wall next to the door she'd exited not long ago.

"Give her a warning, Jack," Baal said, stepping back into the shadows. "And remember, Cailan. Not a word."

Jack tossed his hand carelessly towards Jake as Cailan screamed. Jake was on fire in seconds, though at first his crazed mind didn't acknowledge it. He was quite engulfed in flames before he started shrieking and squirming, writhing under the heat. He twisted, his voice screaming into the night. Cailan watched, horror struck as he frothed on the ground. Finally getting sense into her brain—perhaps it was the smell of burning flesh—she grabbed her torn jacket and threw it over the boy. She started screaming for help, trying to pat him down and get the flames out. She screamed for someone to call the police, an ambulance.

…

_2:36am_

"Ms. Leal, this is Commissioner Gordon, he's here to speak with you about…what happened." Alfred said, looking softly to the girl.

Cailan lifted her green eyes, clouded with shock, up to the Commissioner's face. She blinked heavily, as if she was unable to see him at first.

"I know you've already been over this with the other officers, but I need you to talk with me, if you could, about what happened," he said as gently as he could.

He watched the girl draw in a shaking breath. "Uhm, I knew Jake from school…" she started, her hands trembling; she had soot smears and grime darkening her face, but it made her eyes illuminate all the more in the florescent lights of the hospital ."w-we…we went out for a little bit…"

"Yes; I have it here that he…ran away, some months ago? Is that right?" she nodded, unable to choke out an answer. "And…not too long after that, you stopped going to school?"

"I was old enough to drop out. I informed the school I wasn't interested in continuing on." Her lines sounded rehearsed, even to her; Dick had taken care of the paper work so that she wouldn't have to talk to the cops.

"Yes, I'm just trying to get the facts in order Ms. Leal." Gordon said, knowing full well that she was with Wayne and that Wayne…well, whether or not she knew about Wayne was none of his business. "Now, did you see Jake at all between the time you left school and when Mr. Wayne took you in?"

Cailan paused, long enough for Gordon to know that she had. What should she say? She wasn't supposed to mention the clowns—and why not? Was she scared of what Baal would do to her? Yes. She was terrified. She didn't want anything to jeopardize Kaldur wanting her, no matter how selfish and conceited that was. But…weren't her friends, her family in danger?

"Y-yes…yes I did see him." She finally admitted. She swallowed hard. "H-He was…was…" she shivered uncontrollably and let out a shaky breath.

"Jake was running with a bunch of jokers; he was s-selling their new product…Product X? He…got addicted to it…"

Gordon kept taking notes. "Wait, how do you know about product X?" he motioned for Alfred to leave.

"…I told you…Jake was selling it for them." She said to Gordon's furrowed brow.

"Ms. Leal, product X hasn't gone on the market as an illegal drug… we've confiscated contaminated candies with that; it isn't a drug, is a poison."

He looked at her dirty face, her torn dance tights and her disheveled hair. She was tired and scared, and he wasn't helping that.

"Can you tell me what happened tonight?"

She drew her lips tight, like a child refusing to eat something that tasted bad.

"Ms. Leal…the story you gave the other officers is that you walked out and your…friend just set himself on fire. Is that how you want it to get put into the report?"

She retreated into her mind. Her life had been like this since she'd run away. And her life stayed this way because she had continued to run…was still running away. Running, like a frightened little child, afraid of the dark.

"Ms. Leal?"

Hadn't Kaldur…hadn't anything changed?

"No. That's not what happened…"

"You can trust me," Gordon said, leaning in, softening his gaze on the girl.

"…it was…some of Joker's kids…"

…

_5:23am_

"Please don't say a word…" Cailan begged, holding Dick by the shoulders.

"Are you kidding me?" he tried to pull away with a disgruntled look on his face.

"Dick…please?"

"…look the League already knows about it by now—"

"Yeah…I know but it…doesn't have to reach the others exactly the way it went down…right?" she knew she was sounding ridiculous; there was hardly a chance that the League would leave out any of the details. That is, _if _the League wanted to employ their 'covert' team.

"Cailan, I can't lie to my team," he said, shaking his head.

"And…I'm not asking you to, not really," she winced, feeling totally lame. "I just…don't…"

"You don't want Kaldur to freak."

"Basically."

"He's a lot more level-headed than that Cailan," There was a little smile on his face, trying to be reassuring.

"…you sure?"

…

_Wednesday 9__th__ of May_

_6:00pm_

"This changes everything." Batman growled from the Space Tower.

"Did they tell her what they wanted?" Flash asked, crossing his arms.

"Gordon said it had something to do with the poison Joker's goons have been selling on the streets," the bat mused, looking at the screen that had the police files.

"Why was Gordon the one called for this?" Diana asked, looking from the screen to Bruce.

"Because Cailan Leal is under Bruce Wayne's financial aid, the crime was attempted murder of a minor, assault of a minor, and, best of all, Gotham's worst has his hand in it." Superman said, coming down from the control center.

"I don't see why things need to change," Hawk Woman said, resuming her attention elsewhere.

"You don't think it's a coincidence that Joker's kids just happened to set a student of Gotham Academy on fire, who just happened to know Cailan, who just happens to know about…_our _kids," Flash said, shrugging.

"Of course you say it that way and it's going to sound conspiratorial." Green Lantern rolled his eyes.

"It's too close," Batman said.

…

"You and I need to talk."

Cailan stopped and looked around; Kaldur had gotten the attention of only a few other dancers. "Uh…c-can this wait, Kal? I—"

Kaldur turned and walked out of the auditorium; Cailan grimaced. Even if Dick had tried, it was inevitable that Kaldur was going to find out at some point. She felt her heart start doing summersaults in her chest. Was he going to yell at her, scold her, break up with her? Was she going to be shipped off somewhere, unable to talk with any of them again? Inching out into the hallway she peered at him from behind.

Kaldur was positively seething.

Tentitivly she tiptoed out, gently placing her fingers lightly on top of his shoulder. Kaldur practically flinched away from her touch. Biting her lip she stepped back.

"What happened?" he asked and, though she didn't really know it, had a hard time keeping his temper doing so.

"They…" she bit her lip again and took a step back from him, buying time.

Well, she'd gone this far with it.

"…said something about the money that Jake had blown through by taking their drugs. It wasn't ever about me…"

He sighed and turned around. He could decide what added to his anger: the fact that he was ninety-nine percent sure she was lying to him or the fact that she looked so upset and worried.

"You will be lucky if they do not move you someplace, Cailan." He looked away from her again. "You did not even tell Richard until he found out from Mr. Wayne."

"Kal—"

"Should I not have been the first you called? If not Mr. Wayne himself, or Richard, not me either?"

She swallowed hard, shifting uneasily. He wasn't buying her story.

"Alfred wasn't fast enough. I—I panicked when they…when Jake…I was scared and started screaming. Someone else called the police before Alfred could. He…couldn't tell Mr. Wayne until later, when things had calmed down."

"Why would they go to you over what Jake had or had not done?" he drove hard at the crux of the issue, not giving his anger time to subside before he started questioning her.

"I…he was my boyfriend before…all this happened…"

She watched Kaldur's eyes close, almost like he was in pain, or just realizing something he'd been hiding from himself. His hands were in fists and his muscles were taught.

"He probably mentioned me at some point…maybe blaming me for the missing drugs or—"

"Product X is poison." He interrupted her calmly.

"…right. The missing poison. Besides…you were there the first time, remember? When you rescued me?"

"Do not—" he cut himself off and turned away, leaning his hands against the wall and avoiding all sight of her. "Do not play it this way Cailan. Do not con me."

There was a long pause; it was long enough that Kaldur knew that part if not all of her story was a lie. It was long enough that Cailan had time to debate in her head what her next course of action was. She wanted to stay; she'd found a family here. She wanted to continue being a part of the Gotham Ballet Troupe, to put on the performance at the end of May. She wanted to experience a time of selfishness where she didn't have to scrounge to take care of a little kid or be grown up and do everything for herself. She didn't want to have to shoulder burdens and responsibilities all on her own for things she had done or had seen or knew. She wanted those moments on the beach, playing in the water, having her father teach her how to dance—the childhood moments that'd been stolen from her in that car crash.

"That's cruel Kaldur." Her voice was hollow. "I'm not conning anyone."


	23. Drowning part two

_**A/N: please excuse the profanity; I try not to use it as much as possible, but I feel like I've got a scene here that just absolutely warrants it. (24 pages, anyone else think I've overdone it…again?) **_

_Friday 15__th__ of June_

_1:37pm_

"So what, did daddy-bats ground her or something? I mean, c'mon!" Wally threw his hands up in the air.

"Tch. He's tripled security around the manor, put a tail on her every where she goes, and he's got Red Arrow as her unseen body-guard. But no, she's not grounded or under house arrest or anything. Actually…she's been avoiding everyone, even Alfred…" Dick said, pausing at the computer in the mountain base.

"Why would she be avoiding us?" Megan asked, hurt, lowering her pompoms; she had to practice for the tryouts for next year.

Dick made the mistake of glancing towards Kaldur.

"Wait, is she avoiding _us_?" Conner narrowed his eyes "Or—"

"Kaldur, what did you say to Cailan the other day?" Wally questioned, trying to sound casual.

"I do not believe that has any bearing on our team or our mission," the teen replied evenly, sounding as if he meant it.

"Don't go ragging on Kaldur just because the high school princess got her panties in a bunch. Why is it his fault?"

"Well, did _you_ go and talk to her after her high school heart throb got set on fire?" Wally demanded, leaping to his feet.

"Hah, heart throb? Dude, the guy was strung out on _poison_ for over six months."

"We caught her making out with him in the hallway,Rob." Wally sneered; Dick clenched his teeth.

"Wally!" Megan scolded, glancing towards Conner carefully.

"Still not seeing why you're once again turning _against our leader_." Artemis interjected.

"Hey, that's not fair either. We were ALL mad at him because we didn't understand," Conner said, putting down the wrench he was using for a manual adjustment to Sphere.

"Not to mention, Ms. Archer, your visit to Wayne manor." Dick said, not attacking but reminding.

"Wait, when did you go—why did you go—" Wally started.

"You went to visit Calie?" Megan said, hope dripping over her voice.

"What did you say to her?" Kaldur asked, mildly surprised.

"Well what did _you_ say to her?" Artemis demanded, glaring around the room.

Kaldur closed his eyes and, turning his back on them began laughing.

"What did I tell you." Conner said, shaking his head and resuming his adjustments to Sphere. "She's been the second worst thing to happen to the team."

"I told her I knew she was lying to me and I did not like it." Kaldur chuckled, seemingly ignoring what Conner had said.

"Tch." Artemis scoffed. "Knew it."

"…she wouldn't do that," Wally said, looking quickly from Kaldur to Dick.

"What would you do to stay with your family Wally?" Dick asked. He wasn't smiling anymore.

"B-But, you can't lie to—I mean, you just don't lie to your team!" Wally protested.

"Family," Conner corrected him nonchalantly.

"I wasn't aware there was too much of a difference!" Wally shouted, getting pretty well riled up by now; Dick saw Artemis flinch and look away quickly.

"What exactly is she lying about Kaldur?" Megan asked, sitting down. "I mean, maybe it's not what it seems like,"

"Do you really believe that Joker's crew would set someone she knew on fire just outside of the one place she spends all her time, because _he_ had some issues paying them back? No, my friend. If it was an issue of money Joker simply would have stolen it from somewhere else and killed Jake to make a point." Kaldur shook his head.

"That's what Batman thinks too," Dick said, going back to his computer, despite not really working on anything.

"They know she knows us?" Wally asked. "How could that even be possible—we would have known if someone was watching us or following us."

"Then why didn't they beat her or something?" Artemis asked, again interjecting herself into the conversation.

"Fear is a much stronger tool." Kaldur replied. "They set Jake on fire to send a message."

"So why would she not tell us this?" Megan asked, looking hurt; she looked up to Cailan, in a way.

"Because she's smart." Dick turned in his chair to explain. "She tells the League that they know she could rat us out and what do you think is going to happen? They'll move her off into some remote location with a new name. It'd be like witness-protection times ten. She couldn't see us, couldn't dance, couldn't even use her own name."

"I'd consider that selfish, not smart," Conner furrowed his brow.

"Maybe." Dick shrugged. "But, she just wants to stay with us,"

"At our expense?" Artemis growled. "No."

"Ar-Artemis, Artemis wait!" Dick stood, too late.

"Not happening," the blond said, just in front of the transport.

"Wally stop—"

Artemis jumped through the portal.

"—her… Crap. Bruce is gonna kill me."

…

_1:40pm_

"Hey,"

Cailan looked up, her hair hanging limply in her face, heavy with sweat.

"What, you think it's funny to play with our lives?" Artemis growled, stalking towards Cailan across the rehearsal floor.

"You can't be in here!" Jennifer said, looking around and motioning for 'security' to come and collect the intruder.

"I can't believe you. Ya know, you almost had me going the other night. You almost made me believe all the bull you've been feeding us,"

"You need to leave. Now. I will NOT have you harassing my dancers!" Demitri growled, grabbing Artemis' arm and wheeling her around to face his own livid face.

"I've got some business with _Ms. Leal._" The girl sneered, tearing her arm from his grasp.

"Demitri I'm so sorry," Cailan said, her eyes widened in surprise. "I'll—we—we'll…"

"Outside." He growled, pointing to the door.

"Don't touch me!" Artemis nearly screamed, reeling away from Cailan who'd tried to 'gently' push her towards the door.

"What the hell was that!" Cailan demanded, nearly out of breath from tension.

"I'm sick and tired of you. You're a lying, conning, manipulative…brat!" Artemis erupted as the girls burst from the building via a side door.

"Me? Hah look who's calling the kettle black! I can see the lie in your eyes so don't go preaching to me about lying,"

"You…ohoh you've got some nerve I otta—"

"Pfft what're you gonna do, hit me? I'm trembling at that threat, kid," Cailan said, her body very near shaking with anger.

"Kid?" Artemis exploded, stuttering in anger, her eyes bugging with irritation. "_KID?_ You've got no idea who the hell you're talking to! I've been through more and done more than you could _ever_ even think of!"

"I don't give a damn what you've done Artemis. You use it as an excuse to act moody and be rude to everyone and anyone you come across. Whatever pain you've gone through serves as nothing more than a perversion to suit your unquenchable anger!"

"Pain, my pain—you know nothing about me! How dare you say that—"

"I don't have to know anything about you! You've gotta attitude problem a mile high and you take it out on everyone around you—"

"Oh, as opposed to what? To stringing everyone along in some little game so that you can get your kicks messing up our family too?"

"Just what the hell does that mean? Last I checked _you_ were the ones who—" Cailan returned, ready to fight now.

"Don't put this on us like it's all our fault you can't think outside of your own selfish idiocies! You got yourself into this mess and like hell am I gonna let you bring my family down with you!"

"Selfish idiocies—you're freaking kidding me! I spent seven years of my life taking care of a kid I hardly knew; I gave up everything to—" Cailan was flustered, trying to keep her head and argue logically back.

"You gave up everything? Like hell you did. The only reason you had to take care of her was 'cause you kidnapped her in the first place; if you had just left well enough alone and stayed put—" Artemis rolled her eyes and fumed.

Cailan let out a huff of breath. "Do not talk to me like I'm a little kid who made a jump decision after panicking." Her voice was low and surprisingly even, turning her back on Artemis as if she was ending the argument.

"Tch. C'mon princess; you don't know what it's like to—"

"Stop. Calling. Me. PRINCESS!" Cailan exploded, her voice rising as she wheeled on Artemis. "You think groveling in the streets of the Narrows in rags, stealing to give a crying kid something to keep her stomach from hurting AS MUCH is the life of a princess? You think I liked putting on a plastic face, walking around high school while guys looked at me like another score?"

"Don't—" Artemis started.

"Or how about watching your parents die right in front of you, huh Artemis?"

…

"Wait, what just happened?" Conner asked looking to the others.

"We gotta go get her back," Dick said, grabbing his coat and his shades. "Wally where did she go?"

"Gotham City exit!"

"Kaldur, c'mon," Dick paused at the portal, looking back to his leader. With an apprehensive nod and a final glance to the control center, he followed. When they came out in the phone booth it was a quick run around the corner to the rehearsal gym.

"Crap!" Wally punched the air.

"Too late…" Dick winced.

The five had a front row view to the blond and the copper headed girls going at it; however, they were still at a distance great enough to cause the scene to be pantomime.

"We need to stop them," Megan said, remembering herself and quickly sliding into her human skin.

"Right," Dick said, carefully edging his way closer so as not to draw the girls' attention.

"Do not talk to me like I'm a little kid who made a jump decision after panicking." They heard Cailan dimly, her voice angry as she began turning away.

"Tch. C'mon princess; you don't know what it's like to—" They watched Artemis, her face carrying a disgusted look, shake her head in mock of the girl she was arguing with.

"Stop. Calling. Me. PRINCESS! You think groveling in the streets of the Narrows in rags, stealing to give a crying kid something to keep her stomach from hurting AS MUCH is the life of a princess? You think I liked putting on a plastic face, walking around high school while guys looked at me like another score?" they listened as Cailan blew up at Artemis, finally losing her head.

"Don't—" Artemis started.

"Or how about watching your parents die right in front of you, huh Artemis?"

By the time Cailan had blurted this out, unthinking, the whole of her 'family' was within ear shot, close enough now that Wally could have zipped by in a second and snatched Artemis away and ended the fight right then and there.

"Well! Does that make me a princess, huh? Watching all I had go down in a second—a fiery crash destroyed _everything_, my family, my life, my future, and that makes me some sort of idolized princess?" Cailan scoffed, her voice wavering.

Artemis stood there, stunned and suddenly regretting some of the things she'd said. "I—I didn't mean—I'm sorry about—"

Cailan was about two strides from Artemis and she closed the distance remarkably fast. The blond wasn't expecting the slap to the face and she stood there, shocked out of her mind, her eyes wide as her hand went to her face.

"You're lucky it wasn't a fist," Cailan said, glaring, swallowing hard.

"…Cailan, Artemis!" Dick finally yelled, realizing it'd gone too far.

Except, it wasn't over.

…

Artemis stood there for a moment, shocked at what'd just happened. Cailan had _hit _her. She hadn't thought the princess had the nerve.

"You little bitch," Artemis hissed.

"What the hell did you expect?" Cailan rounded on her furiously bewildered, ignoring the others. "You come here and start something with me, making a scene in front of Demitri and my troupe and then act as if you're sorry for the whole thing?"

"Oh you deserve much more than that," Artemis started balling her hand into a fist.

"Uh, guys," Dick said, trying to step between them.

"Dick stay out of this," Artemis growled, pushing him from between the girls.

"Maybe you should back off and not tell him what to do," Cailan shoved Artemis back.

"Hey!" Dick said, again stepping forward.

"Don't you tell me what to do!" Artemis gave her a nasty push in return, causing her to stumble backwards.

"Should we maybe—" Megan said, looking at Kaldur and Conner—who seemed to be enjoying himself, a little bit.

"Or what, gonna go rogue and—"

"I don't go rogue—Dick and I stuck it out together and saved our team. I had a chance to run and I stayed!"

"Girls—"

"Which is why you took off here to attack me for absolutely no reason?" Cailan hissed, her own eyes locked onto Artemis.

This did give Artemis pause; she'd ignored Dick—though, to be honest, it wasn't as if he had much (any) authority over her at all. In this pause she took a breath and glanced around.

"No," a snarl curled up her lip and she settled back smugly, her shoulders pulling back relaxed. "Not for 'no reason.'"

"Then what," Cailan's voice was so low it was almost unrecognizable, her hands clenched so hard it looked like the bones were sheering through her skin.

"Why the hell are you playing with our lives?"

Cailan let out her breath in a hiss and ran a hand furiously through her hair. "ARGH! Would you get off of this! Just how am I playing with your lives?"

"…you really did lie…" Wally answered before Artemis had a chance to open her mouth.

Cailan furrowed her brow further and looked at him.

"And…this isn't the first one, is it?" he demanded, looking at her with disbelief.

"Hey, Wally," she said, her voice still cold. "When, exactly, was the last time you asked me anything about my past?"

The silence that lingered among the seven was brutal. It was as if Ice was radiating off of Cailan's shoulders towards them, pushing them away.

"And Joker's goons?" Conner questioned, his face set like stone.

Cailan went ridged, her entire body as unmoving as a mountain face. However, she said nothing. More moments passed uneasily between them, the two girls breathing hard.

"Taking time to _fabricate_ your answer?"

"I've already been over my answer with Gotham police and… If Dick wanted to he could find the paperwork and everything." Cailan retorted, her voice still cold and stale.

"…'my answer'…?" Wally demanded, getting angry again.

"What?" Cailan shook her head, not understanding.

"You said 'my answer' not 'the truth' or 'what happened', but 'my answer'."

"…what's your point?" Conner asked, now confused.

"Most of the time, when people are telling someone what happened after a natural disaster—" Wally started.

"—or something like a bank-robbery or assault, they say 'that's what happened,' or 'that's what I saw' or even 'yes, that's the truth'." Dick finished.

"But that's not what Cailan said…" Conner looked to the girl now.

"No. It isn't" Artemis growled.

"Now _you're _getting on my case for how I speak?" Cailan returned the girl's glare, not ready to back down from Artemis' challenge.

"It's not how you speak Cailan," Dick said, shaking his head. "It's in the natural word-patterns that the most people use after a traumatic event."

"So, obviously I'm lying?" Cailan spat out.

"We're your friends Cailan," Megan tried reaching out to the girl.

"Yeah, lotta good that's done me so far, huh," the elder said before she realized who she was talking to, taking a step back and away from all of them. "I think you need to leave now,"

"Cailan," she tried again.

Cailan knew it would take more than that for the Martian to give up. "Get back to your clubhouse. Go back to the _Intel_ that your mentors spoon feed you. I've got a rehearsal to get back to."

"That was uncalled for," it was the first time Kaldur had spoken and he caught them all off guard. "Artemis, it was…ill-advised to burst in on Cailan in such a public manner; it will not happen again. We need to get back to…base-ics."

He motioned with his eyes towards the main entrance—around a corner.

"Yeah. Guess our project does need some tuning-up," Wally said sourly, the first to turn and go.

Conner placed his arm around Megan's shoulders and led her after Wally; Artemis stalked off, having gotten not the last bit of scolding she was going to get. Dick glanced from Kaldur (who was staring straight ahead at Cailan with an unplacable look on his face) to Cailan who was glaring at the ground with enough anger fit to kill.

"I know you didn't mean that…" the boy said quietly "And I'm not mad at you either…just…be careful."

From the corner of her eye she watched him go, dreading his leaving with every step he took away. Then she was alone with Kaldur.

…

_1:53pm_

Kaldur sighed sadly and stepped forward until they were mere inches apart. "You still do not trust me?"

"It has nothing to do with trust—"

"No, Cailan. It has everything to do with trust." He interrupted her. "Not the trust that my team and I deal with; this is the kind of trust two people need for a relationship to work."

He watched her grind her teeth and fidget, her body still ridged. "It isn't as if you asked."

"I know what you are doing," he said, his voice still soft.

"What am I doing?" she said, trying to dig the wounds further.

"Cailan, I have told you before," a small smile came to his lips. "Atlantian skin is quite dense. It would not matter, even if it was not. You are trying to push everyone away, are you not?"

Her eyes shot up to him, surprised. She blinked quickly, startled at his accusation. He closed the distance and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her head. She remained ridged and unresponsive, letting him pull her closely to himself. He smelled like…earthly-newness, like a breeze that had just kissed the sea.

"I know you are getting ready to run again." he said, holding her tightly. "I am sure you could find a way to disappear more completely than the League could."

He pulled her still tighter, nearly lifting her from the ground as he pulled her up, nuzzling into her little neck. "And I understand why you would. _Sometimes, to keep what you love the most, you have to be able to let it go_—"

Cailan's eyes shot open and she struggled, getting her body arms-distance away from him. Her eyes were wide as she demanded how he knew that.

He blinked at her, not sure what she was talking about. "H-How do you know that?"

"Perhaps…I—I read it or—" he stopped at her shaking her head.

"_Now, my little dancing-princess," he chuckled at her, picking her up and swinging her into his arms. "You've got to set the little guy free," _

"_But…papa…" the little girl pouted looking down at the small bird that was nestled into a towel under a gentle light in her little shoe-box. "he's my friend, I love him." _

"_Ahw, sweetie," he said, his whiskers tickling her cheek, making her giggle "sometimes…sometimes to keep what you love the most, you have to be able to let it go, otherwise, how do you know it loves you back?" _

"N-No…not that way…not those words…m-my dad told me that…" she looked up at him, her eyes filling quickly with tears.

He fumbled with his words, unsure what to tell her. What if he was actually wrong, what if his memories were true, and it _had _been Tula he'd given the anklet to? But Cailan's reaction…how could that scenario possibly be?

"…a long time ago I met a friend, one day at the beach. When we had to part ways, she told me not to worry, that…that if I loved her, we'd always be friends,"

Her eyes widened and she tried harder to push herself away from him, but he wasn't having that. "Kaldur'Ahm that isn't funny," she whimpered, now struggling desperately to get out of his grasp. "Please…don't mess with me…"

"She told me that 'sometimes to keep what you love the most, you have to be able to let it go, otherwise, how do you know it loves you back?'"

"I didn't mention that part of the story…" she whispered, her struggle with him finished (though it was reflected in her glinting eyes).

"I know." He said, looking to the side and bracing himself for whatever reaction might head his way.

"Then…you…b-but—no, wh—how…" her eyes were searching his face frantically, her mind unable to articulate her emotions into words. "W-Why…why didn't you say something sooner?"

She finally choked out a question, her voice hardly audible, even though he was only inches away from her.

"You said you remembered your parents giving it to you, the first time we met. Your anklet, I mean. You said that they had given it to you, and after learning what happened, I assumed it must have been just before they died. I did not want to take that memory away from you."

"No," she shook her head at him again. "No, I said I liked to _think_ they had given it to me. Kaldur…I didn't want that story to be true,"

It was his turn for his gaze to snap up, surprised. "What…I do not understand,"

"I drove myself crazy over that little boy by the sea. No one else had seen you, not one person at those lake houses had seen you, except me. Do you know how many times I went back to that god-forsaken beach, looking for that little boy? Each time I looked back at the road I was sick to my stomach…" her body suddenly started to go slack, her shoulders relaxing to a defeated slouch. "…it was you…"

"I—I am sorry to have caused you so much distress," Kaldur misunderstood her and bristled, feeling accused and rather berated.

"I don't want to leave you again," he wasn't expecting her to throw herself forward like she did.

He wasn't expecting her arms to cling around his waist like they did. He hadn't expected her to bury her face into his chest the way she was now doing. Her body was so warm against his, so soft.

"I can't leave you again," he heard her mumble indistinctly through his shirt as she pressed her face into him.

He let his head roll back, his eyes squeezed shut. How could emotions hurt one so much? He had never dreamed things would be so hard. He held her to him hard; she could just barely breathe properly with his arms locked around her like they were. He knew they were being watched. He knew she was going to leave, either on her own or via the league, he didn't know. He wanted the most of this moment. He drank in her scent, willing his mind to remember both it and how she felt against him, how feathery her hair felt as it brushed his skin, how her eyes glinted at him in the light. Knowing they were running out of time, that it had to end, he kissed her forehead.

"Do you love me?" he asked her, almost unable to make his voice work.

She looked up at him, quizzically.

"Cailan, do you love me?"

"Yes, of course I do."

He cupped her chin and tilted her head back. "Then do not worry. I will find you again, I swear."

…

Numbness shot through her body as he kissed her. First she and Artemis have a row—just when they'd started getting along—then she goes and force-feeds herself memories about how her parents died, then she finds out that the fictional boy she'd been in love with her entire life is actually real and, oh yeah, the guy she happens to be dating, but only after her life got royally messed up (again) and she has to flee to keep them safe. Now, she had his soft, passionate lips on hers, domineering her thinking. If she had had control of her thoughts she would have been thinking that the world was cruel.

As it was, she was instead thinking about his lips and how passive-aggressive they were in his kiss. He'd never tried to dominate her; instead if he wanted something, he guided her towards the avenue he wanted and let her choose to take it.

Like now, as he kissed her. He let his teeth graze her lower lip, just enough to grab her attention, enough to make her want a little bit more. Then he let his tongue slide along her lips, ever so gently; of course her own parted for him. However, this time her body was better at reacting, or, rather, worse at doing so. She was so frazzled at all that had happened in the past twenty minutes that she was passively going along, just a step behind him.

She knew it was over when his hand slid lovingly into her hair. A second later he pulled away, resting his forehead against hers.

"I promise Cailan, I will find you."

…

_2:04pm_

"I hope whatever you were doing was important." Demitri said rhetorically, his arms crossed over his chest, watching the other dancers.

"I'll stay and work late tonight," Cailan said, deciding she was tired of fighting for the day.

"Oh, believe, me, I know." He growled, his eyes darting to her.

…

_11:09pm_

"Again," Demitri ordered.

Cailan inhaled deeply and held herself upright, telling herself what she needed to do for the routine. She'd only just moved her foot out before her was yelling at her.

"No. Can you do nothing right? Again." he began pacing around her.

"How can I do it again when you haven't let me start?" she quipped, spinning around and glaring at him.

"Do not take an attitude with me. You are one of my dancers you'll do as I say if you want to stay on in my troupe. Again."

She shook her head and turned back to center stage. Rolling her shoulders back she straightened and lifted to her toes, closing her eyes. She got a little farther this time in the routine before Demitri startled her with a barking order to, once again, start over from the beginning.

"I said I would stay late to work Demitri. I didn't say I was going to stay here and get yelled at and harassed because I had to take care of something. I wasn't even gone half an hour." She grumbled, her body exhausted and her mind gnawing at her, wanting to have moments to herself to process what, exactly, she should do now.

"You still don't get it, do you?" he rolled his eyes and leaned against some equipment off to the side of the stage. "This isn't about you Cailan. It isn't about _your _dancing. I will be the first to admit—to proclaim—that you are a very talented girl. You've got skill and a passion that I have not recognized in many professional dancers who have made very great names for themselves over the history of ballet. You make this dance more of a will to life than just a form of moving art.

"But, this is not a solo performance. It is not even a solo ability. Your ability is great Cailan, but you alone could never make a performance, only add to it like a spice to a wonderful dish."

"I don't need a lecture, Demitri." She groaned, her shoulders dropping, her body aching. She didn't care if he was right.

"You are just one aspect to the ballet." He continued on, his voice strengthening but no longer angry. "If you are off in your moves, it affects the other dancers. Even in the chorus, where there are a multitude of girls all doing the same thing. If you are off even a fraction, you set the other girls off and skew the performance. Likewise, when you are in the spotlight, you can be perfect, but your entire performance can be ruined by one girl not knowing her place.

"Or, say the main dinner piece is too strong: it will disrupt the natural design of the rest of the dinner dishes. In the same way, a lead dancer who is too strong or too weak, possibly too conceited in her own ability can ruin a performance with a tawdry flavor, and thus ruin the other dancers reflected in her light.

"Nor can the lead ever truly play her part alone. You could not do many of the movements and leaps without a partner to support you. If you leap before he lifts, or take your time in leaping, the whole routine is knocked out of balance like too much garlic or not enough paprika."

"…I _know that_." She half whined, flopping down in fatigue on the stage, sitting watching him lean against the equipment. "Why are you relating all of this to food?"

He shrugged at her. "I like to cook."

His bluntness brought a smile to her face. "Demitri, I get it. I've always gotten it. Ballet is a partnership and team work. It's like all the different cogs and meshing inside of a clock. I know."

"Then tell me this, why can you not perform the routine tonight?" he asked her, raising his eyebrows, his whole continence softened like an uncle, or brother.

"Because you keep interrupting me," she laughed back, thinking she'd finally won out.

"Hm. Alright, again, from the top. And I _won't _interrupt."

At once feeling herself relax she eased into her performance, rolling her shoulders back and extending her leg carefully, letting her passion for dance shake loose from the sediment it had settled to in her veins. She felt as if the music were making her heart beat in her chest and let herself lull into living it.

She felt a body moving behind her and felt startled, her body returning to the rigidity of the rules of ballet. Cailan knew that this part of the chorus dance required a duet: male and female partners. She felt his hand slide around her waist and braced herself. This part of the dance was a spectacular spin where the female was lifted clear of her feet. However, the male dancer hardly supported his partner in the move. Instead, it was on the female dancer to _use_ her male partner as a support and end the move on her own.

Cailan fell to the floor.

Demitri looked down at her, his brows arched.

"…okay. I get it." She said.

He crouched down in front of her. "This has been a growing problem in your dancing Cailan. What's on your mind?"

"Nothing." She lied. "I guess it's just…nerves getting to me. I…I think we should call it a night."

…

_Tuesday 19__th__ of June_

_11:13am_

"Cailan you will not be on stage at all if you cannot get your head together," Demitri warned in Cailan's ear as he brushed by.

She groaned inwardly. She wanted to appear in a Gotham production almost more than anything.

_Who am I kidding? I'd give this up in a heartbeat if… you're running. Nothing for it, you're running. _

"Sure Demitri." She said, rolling her head back. She had a lot of work to sort out.

_12:07am_

"Stop he's dying!" Patches wailed, darting over to the Joker and Baal, throwing her arms over the boy.

Joker's face contorted from the maniacal smile he wore to a grotesque sneer. "That was quite rude," he said as calmly as asking for slice of apple pie while his hand slithered down and struck her across the face, sending her flying.

"Mista J don't," Harley pleaded, trying to help the younger jester-girl to stand.

Despondently, joker kicked at the boy. "I don't like not getting what I want Harley,"

Everyone shivered at his graveled growl.

"Mista J, they're just kids," the woman said shakily, holding the younger girl's shoulders firmly.

"Don't kill him Joker, please," Patches said, tearing up and sniffling as she looked at Baal, who was making his way to his hands and knees.

Joker turned back to Baal and pulled a prank-pistol, pistol-whipping him across the face and giving him a brutal kick to the ribs that crashed him into the wall. Baal started coughing and sputtering, attempting to pull breath back into his bruising lungs. He groaned, covering Patches' little cry of despair as she tore from Harley and rushed to the boy. Joker rolled his eyes at her affection.

"Oh, shut up," he sneered, lifting the pistol up.

The water-pistol shocked the cronies when it exploded in a burst of fire and smoke. Patches gave a startled grunt, her back arching as a little ball of lead entered between her shoulder blades and burst through her chest. The next moment she was crumpling to the floor, coughing. Blood dribbled through her terrible teeth.

"Alright Baal," Joker spun on his heels, dropping the trap-gun, grinning as he thought. "I've decided you've got another chance."

…

_Friday 29__th__ of June_

_5:30pm_

"You are not getting ready?" Kaldur peered into the living room of the base to see Conner and Wally playing games, Megan cooking and Artemis nowhere to be found.

Megan paused in her work and looked at him, then sent a glance towards Conner and Wally. The two boys seemed engrossed in their game and so Megan took her cue from them and ignored Kaldur's question, going back to her cooking.

"Are you truly going to leave a friend unsupported on such a momentous occasion?" he strode to a mirror and worked on a bowtie, his eyes shifting to observe the reaction of his team and family from the corner of his eye.

"Tch, what friend?" Wally demanded, leaning furiously towards the tv and punching buttons with his fingers fit to kill.

"I'm tired of sitting through stuffy ballets." Conner said calmly, rather bored; he was a natural at videogames, despite not having had previous knowledge of it six months ago.

"…she did lie to us Kaldur," Megan said meekly, her face betraying that part of her did in fact wish to attend.

"And she totally attacked Artemis," Wally added, then exploding at the videogame and throwing his hands up into the air.

"I believe it was the other way around, my friend." Kaldur said gravely, looking up and meeting the blond's gaze as she came through the portal, rather out of breath from darting around trying not to be seen by Dick.

"What's with the monkey suit?" she asked, arching her brow; in a moment she realized what she'd said and began trying to retract her statement. "I—uh, mean…it seems…you're…you look really, _really_ formal…is all…"

"Robin had someone help pick it out." Kaldur said, looking himself over in the mirror in a modest appraisal. "It is for the Gotham Ballet troupe's performance tonight."

"Oh." Artemis' countenance dropped significantly, her face revealing her disapproval.

Kaldur sighed, just as Dick came through the portal, adjusting a tie like a pro as he walked along into the base. "Hey," he stated, looking up. "What's with everyone, if you don't hurry up we'll be late."

"I do not think we will be joined this time, my friend."

Dick looked around in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"

"Dude," Wally stood, dropping the gaming controller, and turning on Dick instantly. "You're kidding, right? She's been lying to us and playing us the entire time. She's used you and the Bat to get her fifteen minutes of fame. She doesn't give a damn about us so why the hell should we waste our time supporting her?"

There was a prolonged, horribly uncomfortable moment in which everyone was silent, four pairs of eyes looking at the two boys. Wally was clenching his teeth trying to keep from shaking. He didn't want to hear about Cailan, he didn't want to talk to her; he didn't want to think about her. The way things had played out between her and Kaldur, the way she'd lied, how she exploded at all of them the way she had. He…he felt like he hated her. Dick, on the other hand, felt a sense of duty towards Cailan. Having her live at the manner…he had been able to get a bit of his childhood back—not that becoming Robin had been bad or anything like that. But, having an older sister from time to time had let him be a little brother. He hadn't really felt that sense of family since his parents…

"Wally—"

"Don't start with me Kaldur." Wally rounded on him now. "No. I'm not going. She doesn't deserve it."

"I understand that you—"

"No, no you don't _Kal._ You really don't. You don't know what it's like to have someone you care about stolen right out from under your nose. Or, that same said person to turn on you and accuse you of things you'd never even allowed yourself to think of considering. Or for that person to lie straight to your face with the smile of a friend right on her face. No, don't tell me you know all about it Kaldur."

"…brilliant speech…" Artemis muttered a littler tersely under her breath. Only Conner heard her.

"Alright," Kaldur said, inclining his head and putting up his hands. He didn't mention that he _did _in fact know what it was like to have someone he loved 'stolen' right out from before him, nor did he mention that he did know what it was like to have Cailan lie to his face. He was not going to fight with Wally; they were family.

"Wally," Dick placed his hand on Wally's shoulder, having closed the distance silently. "…she's leaving."

…

"…" Wally whirled around and started at Dick, his mouth hanging open, his freckles standing out from his suddenly pale face.

"I mean…she didn't plan it that way or anything…" Dick glanced around the room. "…but, when Artemis, uh, started an argument, it gave her a good excuse to make us angry."

"What the—dude, stop trying to cover for her."

"He's not covering Artemis," Megan said, bowing her head down and folding her hands over her lap, her shoulders up around her ears.

"What do you know," Artemis demanded slowly.

Megan went Caucasian, very, very, pale Caucasian, and shifted on her feet. "Well…I didn't mean to but…I couldn't help it. I was just so upset I—I…I read her mind…"

"Artemis just gave her the ammunition she needed." Dick continued. "She said all that junk so that when she disappeared we wouldn't be devastated or upset or go looking for her or whatever."

"If she was leaving we'd know," Artemis said, glaring.

"No. Even if she was going into protective custody through the League, they wouldn't tell us where she was."

"What do you mean if?" Wally asked, turning back to Dick.

"She wasn't going to the League," Kaldur said, slipping his hands into his pockets, looking dignified to the utmost as he did so. "Cailan managed to disappear in her home city when she was a child, disappear for about eight years without anyone having a clue as to where she'd gone. Now that she is eighteen, do you think she will have a more difficult time doing so?"

"But the league—"

"No Conner. Even the League has protocols they must follow, even they could not make her fully disappear into oblivion the way that she could do for herself."

"Not to mention that Dick couldn't hack the equipment, and figure out where she was so that we could find her," Megan piped up.

"Hey, I resent that," Dick said, trying to hide a rather proud smirk.

There was another uncomfortable silence between the team.

"So…" Artemis started, shuffling irritably.

"You played right into her hands," Dick said happily, grinning around at his family. "Well, Kaldur and I are taking the limo."

"Give me another moment," Kaldur said, taking a step back.

Each member was allowed a room, despite the fact that they weren't all used very much throughout the weeks.

"C'mon, you look fine."Dick groaned, rolling his eyes.

"It is not my appearance Dick," Kaldur smiled. "One moment."

…

"Well, you see, we need you to do us a favor." Baal grinned, his teeth barred through his ugly lips, the smoke from her cigarette (now in his mouth) sifting through those barred teeth.

"One that's, _non-negotiable_." He continued, still spattered with Patches' blood, Hyena and Jack slowly pressing forward towards her, one's fangs dripping putrid saliva, the other's eyes glowering with fire straight from hell.

Jenifer pushed as deeply back into her couch as she could, shaking out of her skin. "Fine, you want her gift-wrapped too? I'll do whatever you like,"

…

_6:55pm_

The lights dimmed out twice, signaling the warning of five minutes until the curtain went up. Kaldur and Dick weren't even surprised when the other four came in, lead by Alfred, shifting carefully down the aisle. No one mentioned anything about it. Dick and Kaldur continued going over their pamphlets, observing the people around them, taking in the grandiose ambiance of the old, prominent theater.

"So, what did you do before we left for here?" Dick questioned under his breath; Kaldur shook his head in response.

As her rather confused friends filed into their seats, Cailan was back stage sliding into her chorus girl's costume, applying stage makeup and listening to the other stage girls twitter on about how nervous they were, or excited. There were countless 'break a leg's strewn across the dressing rooms, girls bumping into each other, changing, running around in bras and tights, their faces almost up to hooker-standard, save for the white powder skin and vibrantly pale pink lips. She used a special hook to pull the laces of her corset tight, turning in the mirror to tie them behind her back, as tight as she could. She'd gotten very used to doing costume changes herself: the ballet theater was always bustling, and it was a dog eat dog world. If she couldn't do it herself, she wasn't going to make it.

She'd just gotten her shoes laced, tapping her toes to get her slippers settled on her foot, when Julia, another one of the chorus girls, came rushing into the dressing room positively tittering with news. Not long behind her was a heavy commotion, sounding like it involved half the company.

"It's Vanessa!"

Cailan watched the girls flood out, some grabbing scarves to cover their half naked selves as they did so. She rolled her eyes and sat down, reaching for Abby's makeup. Abby always had the wrong shades, and then ended up needing to trade with someone else, or dump it on someone. It happened that Cailan's skin was the one that these shades were made for. Her summer-kissed skin had faded over the winter and her cream undertones had begun playing out, now that she spent most of her time indoors all hours of the day and night. She looked pale, but the other girls in the company seemed to think it was gorgeous anyway, despite that she hated it. And, Abby had saved her the trouble of buying more face-gunk for the performance tonight. After all, she wouldn't need it much longer.

"Cailan, c'mon!" one of the girls ducked back into the dressing room, goading her to come out and see the fun and chaos.

"I've got to get ready, Demitri will freak if everything isn't perfect tonight." Cailan said dully.

"Hah, you're not gonna matter much tonight sweetheart," the girl sneered coldly, placing her hands on her hips and settling her weight like a diva to one foot. "His little starlet has quit."

With that she marched off, hurrying over to the commotion that—as Cailan had suspected—the entire company was now a part of. It took Cailan a moment before she registered this, freezing with the brush still dusting across her cheek. Her eyes widened and she leaped from the vanity and literally ran from the room, suddenly terrified for her life.

Or, rather, her next life.

…

"You are not doing this Vanessa!" Demitri was practically screaming.

"JUST WATCH ME." she growled back, stamping her rather large ballet foot. "I'm not your play thing Demitir!"

"You _will _go out there tonight and you _will _dance until the finally of this performance. You are under contract with this troupe. _I OWN YOU._" Demitri's voice was so low and full of malice that Cailan shivered as she came up to the outer dregs of the ring that had formed around them.

"Oh-ho-ho just you watch me you—you—arrogant, self-asserting, hypocritical backstabbing bastar—"

"Don't you dare you little harlot. I gave you this position on your alleged skill and you're here because I've kept you going. You're going to get your butt out there and dance tonight!"

"I will not! I quit. So sue me! I've got enough time and enough money that you're stupid lawyers will spend _years_ tangled up in any suit you bring my way!" Vanessa was nearly hysterical now. "I Will NOT go out and dance tonight, or ever again for you. YOU DON'T OWN ME."

"You will NEVER work in ballet again if you do this. Your life as you know it will be over. Do you hear me? I SAID OVER!" Demitri's voice had progressively grown louder and louder until he was roaring at her, his face red, his vocal chords straining to be seen through his skin.

"fine." She hissed at him, her eyes filled with such livid hatred that her body was almost convulsing on the spot.

Before he had any time to do more she pushed her way through the crowd, fleeing almost for her life as soon as she was clear of the bodies towards the stage door. Everyone exchanged looks; without the star… Besides, something crazy had to have happened for her to give up her career in such a way. Demitri wasn't lying. Once he was finished with a dancer, that dancer had great standing and prominence, and could be booked with ease. If Demitri placed a black mark on your name, you were less than the crap on the bottom of the shoe of a drunkard vagabond living in the streets.

The troupe had begun positively buzzing until the den was so loud that Cailan thought the audience had to have heard what was going on. Jennifer was Vanessa's understudy. Demitri was roaring for her, screaming at the stage hands and helpers to find her and bring her up to the front stage immediately.

"Sir…we can't find her…" someone finally said timidly, scuttling out of his way the second it was out of the mouth.

Demitri nearly exploded, frightening many of the dancers back into their cubby holes. They had less than five minutes by now—the performance was supposed to start promptly at seven pm. They'd already convinced the theater to delay it for a few minutes, feigning a slight technical difficulty.

Demitri was like a wild animal as he surged through the back half of the stage. The chorus girls screamed as he burst through their door.

"Oh, shut up!" he roared. "Cailan!"

She felt sick because she knew what was coming. This ruined everything. She looked up at him, having just finished her chorus makeup. "Get up!"

Demitri jerked her up by her arm and practically threw her around, tearing at the laces to her dress. "Get out of this costume and get to Vanessa's room now."

She was hastily covering her breasts and clutching the skirt of her costume to keep it from falling down. "Demitri—" she gasped, mortified and feeling her body go red.

"Shut up. Do as I say. We don't have time for this."

After that he was roaring for someone to tell the owner of the theater hall to hold off for another five minutes. Cailan fled to Vanessa's changing room and had hardly closed the door before she was tearing out her hair and letting her costume fall about her legs. Everything had to change and she had five minutes to do it and then get to the center stage. She only half remembered Vanessa's choreography, and not to mention that now she couldn't leave.

She'd planned on simply leaving in the middle of the performance. No one was going to notice one less chorus girl, in the least. However, that was out. If she left in the middle of the performance now that she _was_ the performance, everyone would be freaking out. Everyone would notice she was gone. They'd come looking for her.

Cailan couldn't disappear if all eyes were on her.

She was almost hyperventilating. She couldn't remember the moves, her fingers were fumbling over the laces and various ties that she was supposed to be getting into. Several chorus girls had been ordered in by Demitri—most of them only half dressed and now not to be appearing in the first dance—to help with her makeup. Her cheeks felt raw from the brushes marking her over with heavy rouge, her lips felt sunburn-torn as they peeled them to get thick, greasy lip-stain coated just right, her eyes felt as if someone had cut off her eyelids while at the same time she could hardly keep them open from the weight of powder, eye-state, mascara and false lashes that had been heaped on them. Someone was grabbing her foot and forcibly shoving the proper slipper onto her foot and tying it up almost too tight only to drop it heavily and start on the other one. Other hands were tugging heartlessly at the strings she hadn't yet gotten, pulling so tight she thought she heard her ribs crack.

These girls were not happy: not to be helping, not to be out of the first dance, and certainly not that the new-be had been chosen over any one of them.

…

_7:14pm_

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please forgive us these technical delays. We have found another small problem with tonight's performance. If you will please look to your pamphlets, we have an adjustment to the cast for tonight's ballet. As lead, instead of Vanessa Sans, the role will be danced by the troupe's newest member, Cailan Leal." A charismatic voice sounded over the intercom.

At exactly seven fifteen the lights went off, fully silencing the murmur of the crowd, and the curtain went up.

…

After the announcement, Kaldur and the others were sitting on the edge of their seats, mostly pleasantly surprised. The curtain went up softly and the music from the live orchestra began playing in the Pit below. As the curtain rose a thin and subtle film of fog spread across the stage, around the tiny feet of one Cailan Leal.

She was trying not to tremble as she stood on one leg, poised and waiting for her cue. Everything had had to be tied beyond measure (by way of her costume) to fit her. Vanessa had a very beautiful body, one that was cured and toned to perfection—so much so that the chorus often suspected it being supplemented with silicone.

Her hair had laced silver and gemstones combed into it, a fake tiara plastered onto her head. While it throbbed painfully against her skull as if it had penetrated, she didn't feel it moving as she lifted onto the flat tip of her shoe and began to spin.

_What do I do what do I do what do I do what do I do what the frickin heck to I do?_ She was screaming at herself, hardly daring to breathe as she tried to concentrate on what she'd seen Vanessa doing in rehearsal.

"what the hell did she do to get lead?" Artemis hissed in disbelief; she was shushed vehemently by Megan, whose eyes were hanging on Cailan's every movement.

…

_9:43pm_

Cailan tore back stage at the crescendo of the music. Her heart was galloping uncontrollably in her chest. If she had been chorus, now would be when she was rushing to pack up her few belongings into her bag and sneak out to the fire escape and up onto the roof of the building. Quickly she pushed those thoughts from her mind and started undressing as she walked back to the dressing room.

_There should be a curtain instead of a door. It'd save time and allow for privacy,_ she felt the thought murmur into her head before she shook her head forcefully. She had to get ready. There was still an hour and a half until the performance was over and she could breathe again.

She tried not to like the way she looked in the regal costumes of a star. Cailan brushed another coat of rouge over her cheeks. Sweating sucked. She almost poked her eye out with the stupid mascara wand and her lips stung when she reapplied the lip-stain. She felt faint.

_Just the excitement. _She thought, darting back out and hurrying to stage left where she was supposed to enter and meet her partner, the borrowed Blain from the modern troupe. She didn't recall that she'd eaten almost four hours ago and hadn't had water since around that same time. How could she, with Demitri breathing down her neck, Blain groping her in the dances, and the horrible sickness she felt as she continued to go out on the stage instead of fleeing the way she'd originally intended.

"Why, hello again," Blain husked into her hear as he grabbed her up and lifted her into a leap.

She tried to ignore his hand just _happening _to brush over her breast. She saw Demitri's livid face as she stumbled slightly after Blain set her down. _Don't let him get to you_.

The audience hadn't noticed, at least, most of them probably hadn't. She reassured herself with that thought and caught herself quickly, sliding that step into the dance routine as if it were supposed to be there.

Her vision blurred for a moment and she paused, missing her cue by half a second. Demitri was going to positively kill her.

…

_10:15pm_

Cailan's gown was almost completely transparent, nothing but about a ton of glitter. She felt like her skin was being shredded underneath the terrible garment as she was swirling dizzyingly around stage. She passed from one set of hands to another and hated it. Her feet hadn't properly touched the ground for nearly the past ten minutes. Her legs kept getting caught in the stupid gown she was somehow supposed to dance in.

She felt ill. Demitri was going to kill her. She was going to singlehandedly bring down the Gotham Ballet Troupe in a brutal attack of fiery 'flamers', from online media to letters to the company to the highest of high critics. She was done for. She'd be a laughing stock.

_What the hell does that matter, you're going to disappear anyways. No one will care if you ruined this shot because you're not going to be here one way or another! _She screamed mentally at herself.

Cailan felt sick. Absolutely sick. It was getting hard to breathe now; the fog that had been at the beginning of the performance began billowing out from backstage. Cailan felt if she was to step on stage she'd be lost in it. Her mind was a whir. The air was so thick from the fake fog, it was so hot being under the stage lights and handled by men who'd body temp was through the roof from dancing, not to mention the gauze contraption she was wearing over her own rocketing body temperature and the lack of food and water—

_Cailan, shut. Up! _She growled angrily at herself. _Quit being such a baby! This is your own fault. Isn't it want you wanted?_

Isn't it what she'd wanted? To prove that she had something, that she _could be _someone? Perhaps, even, that her parents hadn't died in vein?

Blain grabbed her around the middle and lifted her up and spun her round. And spun her…and spun her…

He lowered and she folded her body, arching her back to hang over her shoulder, her legs in front and her arms and neck behind. Blain continued spinning around, slowly letting her slide over her shoulder in front of his own body (Kaldur took particular interest in just _where_ he was holding Calie). In a motion Blain had set her down and flung her from himself.

Conner could easily read the looks on the faces of the rest of the dancers; they were surprised, shocked. He gauged that that hadn't been in the plan.

Cailan continued to spin after Blain had thrown her, unable to stop on a dime. So she adlibbed, having already missed the next proper move. She lifted her leg and spun on one foot, her leg out around her. In air en l' she attained Élévation on a grand jete and came back to the center where she glossed around the hands of her male accompaniments with the fog swirling around her legs and up to her torso in beautiful flourishes.

Blain took her arm and brought her into a lift; she was aware of his painful grip. Everything was off now; he was supposed to be passing her off and instead he was leaning her back; she played along and leaned back, flourishing her hands.

The ending of the performance (while late) was just as it was supposed to be. While Blain was not to be the one to do it, yet there he was, guiding her. Cailan—Blain's hand gripping her shoulder—slowly swirled down into the fog, her legs bent at ninety degrees at the knee in front and behind her, her chest lifting until she was bent back and consumed by the swirling fog.

At the utter crescendo of the music the curtain fell and the stage lights flickered off completely. All was silent as the dancers scuttled behind the curtains, waiting for their applause call.

…

The applause was too little, at least from what Cailan heard as she walked backstage away from the surging crowd of dancers who were working towards the stage. Her hand went to rest over her stomach, as if that could quench her nausea. The cast was slowly unveiled in groups; the crowed just had too much respect to boo. Demitri was going to kill her, she'd utterly failed.

"Where the hell are you going get your little butt back out there now!" Demitri hissed, grabbing her arms and whipping her around.

"I—can't" she gasped, digging her heels into floor to stop herself.

"Move!" he ordered.

Cailan had time to shake her head and swallow hard before her legs gave beneath her and she went down. Demitri swore heavily under his breath and caught her easily. He gave her a little shake, hoping to wake her. She had a performance to go to the crowd for.

"Wake up," he hissed, shaking her again. He gave her face a few gentle slaps and another, rougher, shake.

Her eyes flitted open and no sooner had they then he hauled her to her feet and practically threw her on stage to Blain. "Well, didn't know you were so eager to see me," Blain said, holding her closer than required.

It wasn't like the movies; the applause for the underdog didn't surge to a standing ovation. However, Cailan and Blain had gotten a lovely response from the audience. They didn't love this new girl with an undying love, but they most undeniably didn't hate her either.

Demitri soon strode to the center stage and waved to the audience, grinning broadly, putting his arm over Cailan and drawing her away from Blain, showing her off to the crowd.

"Kid, you just made your life worth more than all of Wayne Corp.'s enterprises." He said through his grinning, clenched teeth.


	24. Drowning part three

_Tuesday 3__rd__ of July_

_1:01pm_

"Ms. Leal, over here!"

"Ms. Leal can I ask—"

"—or what about—"

"We've been trying to reach—"

"—Mr. Wayne—"

"—the magnitude of your last performance—"

"Please, please, one at a time," Demitri _laughed_, pulling Cailan close with an arm over her shoulders.

"What were the reasons behind putting a virtual nobody in the leading role of the final performance last week?" someone shouted first.

"Well, I first noticed it during her audition. Cailan's spirit shone through her dancing. When we ran into a little…problem I knew that she was the only one who could pull it off." Demitri shrugged, hoping no one caught the 'little problem' bit.

"What prompted the switch from Ms. Sans in the first place?" some woman demanded.

"A minor setback." Demitri growled.

"Will she star in the next performance?"

Cailan's head shot up at this.

"My, my I can't give everything away," the man teased.

"What does is feel like, Ms. Leal—can I call you Cailain?—what's it feel like Cailan, to be one of the richest young women in America to date, and in just one night?"

She blinked for a moment, looking at the crowd of reporters. "Uh…I-I guess surreal." She finally managed.

"And all of the rumored offers for other troupes and learning under masters Cailan, what about all of that?"

"They're just…rumors," she lied, sending the reporters into a frenzy.

"W-What she means," Demitri quickly covered. "is that there was a great overreaction. Many new parties have expressed interest in Cailan's continued dance, however, there is nothing as yet substantial."

"I think I'd like to get back to practice," Cailan said, slowly backing towards the studio.

There were several light-flashes, reporters frantically yelling out their questions. Demitri was there to take care of them.

She heaved a sigh as she got back inside the building. Demitri was lying through his teath. Well, he wasn't exactly lying. She wasn't quite one of the 'richest' kids in America, not yet. She'd have to sign with someone, get a higher paying gig, or Demitri would have to up her pay which he was bound to do if he wanted to keep her. He loved telling her she was worth more than Bruce Wayne himself, and that always brought an annoyed smile to her face. Wayne was worth more than Bill Gates times, like, ten. She wasn't worth that much, not yet. It would take years—though, with the way everyone was going at it , maybe not many—for her to earn up to Wayne's point. And that was counting on her not becoming injured or some other star not getting better.

But maybe she did have that kind of a price on her head. Eventually, if she did work that hard, if she forced herself to excel, she could have that much to give away and still be worth more than Wayne. If that was what she wanted.

She shivered. July was wonderful and warm, and tomorrow would be great festivals and parties. The fourth would take attention off her. She wasn't going back to practice. Instead, Cailan grabbed up her backpack.

…

_Man I hate this stupid alleyway._ She thought as she adjusted her pack. Ever since she started using it she felt she'd been watched. She slid her pack around to her front and reached her hand in side, clutching something inside. It was so…girlish but, she was absolutely in love with the little plushie Kaldur had sent her.

It had smelled like him, it still did, actually. She didn't pull it out, but squeezed it tightly inside her bag; she felt, somehow, safer just holding onto it. She jumped at a sound she wasn't sure she'd heard. Continuing on towards a bigger bystreet, she convinced herself it was nothing. _Then, why are you still holding your breath?_ She shivered at her own thoughts and pushed forward, her furtive glances only serving to further distort her imagination. It was broad daylight, what would be hiding here, except maybe a few rats?

Cailan jumped and whirled around, her back now in the direction of freedom. She could have sworn—

No. There wasn't anything there, not that had looked like what she thought she'd seen. There was no orange, no yellow, no red in her vision. Nothing was there. With a breath she continued glancing around her, taking a step back hesitantly. There was still nothing—as if she expected to see something materialize. Why was she still shivering? She held the plushie tighter in her bag, now suddenly afraid to let go of it, as if it were what tied her still to the real world, a safe world.

Inhaling deeply and letting her shoulders fall with her exhale, uttering a cry when she again opened her eyes, Cailan jumped and ran to the wall, pressing her back hard against it. She'd seen that illusive color again, she knew she had. She inched towards Freedom slowly along the wall, her eyes glinting in all directions. She felt crazy, going about things like this. Crazy—no, she felt stupid, like some idiot afraid of her own shadow. She felt like the kind of person that got mocked behind her back for how generally awkward she was.

Counting to ten in her head (though cheating her unseen opponent and running at nine) she darted off for the opening at a wild sprint. Cailan burst forth into the open street, rather unnoticed by most of the other pedestrians, careening around the corner and almost into a now disgruntled old man with a bush mustache. She muttered a sorry and continued walking on hastily.

The whole way out she felt watched.

…

_1:03pm_

"Don't you think this press-time is against the point of hiding her away from view in the first place?" Barry asked, crossing his arms as he leaned against Bruce's wall.

The elder man sighed heavily. "Yes, it is. However, if she gleans attention on her own it'll make people forget just _who_ helped her out to begin with. When that's forgotten—"

"People quit wondering about the mysterious 'Bruce Wayne', making the danger of any connection—" Bruce glared at him "—much less prominent."

"It might work, if we keep her protected."

"Hm. Has Clark eased up on Conner yet?" Barry changed the topic and walked towards Bruce's always-well stocked fridge.

"No."

"Maybe we should plan like, a father-son day or something, only, you know, not tell him about it?" Barry shrugged as he carried a sandwich and chips and a few other food items back towards Bruce.

Bruce rolled his eyes and walked up towards his bedroom. He needed a little sleep, after all.

…

_3:43pm_

"Hey!" Wally laughed, splashing Dick back as he belly-flopped into the sea.

Conner regarded the water warily, he still remembered his and Wally's near drowning with Red Tornado's siblings. Megan giggled and grabbed his arm, eager for the coolness of the ocean instead of the heat of the sand. He let her drag him up to his waist, and then dug his heels into the sand beneath him. Megan shrugged and leaned backwards, letting the waters lift her alien weight.

"What do you think Kaldur's doing…down there?" Artemis asked, sitting under an umbrella on the sand, having refused to get into a bathing suit.

Wally looked up, his stomach and chest red from the water and glanced to Dick expectantly.

"Hey, don't look at me," the kid shrugged, his mouth set. "They don't have the same _electrical_ technology we do down there…that I know of…anyway, there's nothing for me to hack."

"Could we visit him?" Megan asked, popping up.

"Uh, that's a negative Meg," Wally said, looking away bashfully from the two-piece-clad girl. "Unless you can breathe under water."

"I haven't actually tried before…" she cocked her head. Shifting her form she took a very feminine version of Kaldur and dove under the waves.

They all glanced at each other and within seconds she came back up sputtering, looking like herself, spitting out the sea water and coughing. "I…guess I don't know enough about Atlantian physiology," she rasped out apologetically.

"So, what would your guess be?" Conner asked Artemis, wading back up just far enough to sit in the waves with his torso mostly out of water.

"…getting a long deserved break." She answered, drawing her legs up to her chest.

"From leading?" Dick asked apprehensively.

"From her," Artemis muttered, she knew only that Conner had heard her for sure.

"I think he's training," Dick said, shoving Wally and then diving into the waves, coming up closer to Megan.

"I'll bet he's catching up with his buddies, the ones that came for Christmas," Wally answered, shaking out his red hair.

"Maybe he was homesick," Megan said, looking distantly at the water. "I mean…I know I am,"

At this Conner stood, as if he meant to go comfort her, but taking in his peers he remained where he was and tried to figure out what to do next. Artemis saw this and her eyes narrowed. She bolted up to her feet and began walking out along the beach, away from her friends. Wally—his gaze having become fixed at the moving waters around his waist—glanced up at her and then decided he was going to follow her, rather than remain with the pink elephant of love between the four of them.

Dick watched him go and with a shrug flung himself into the water. "Swimming to the buoy" he said over his shoulder.

Megan and Conner looked after their teammates, unable to understand why their friends were continually running from the two.

…

"Hey!" Wally called as he ran clumsily in the water after Artemis.

"What?" she asked, slowing her stride by half a pace and letting him just catch up a little.

"Well…uh…" she rolled her eyes and started on again. "Why do you get so angry at them?"

Artemis froze and ground her teeth. "What's it matter to you?"

"They're our family Artemis. You've said it yourself."

"…I don't like how they're so…so…_together._" She finally spat out, clenching her fists, ready to hear his laughter.

"…yeah…I know how you feel."

"I—wait, y-you do?" she turned to face him.

He shrugged and looked at her disinterestedly. "Well, yeah. I mean, it's pretty obvious that I'm into Megan, er, _was_ into…" he left off at that.

They stood for a moment like that, facing each other.

…

_4:03pm_

"So, what is it this time?" Tula asked, setting a cup of something steaming in front of him.

Kaldur lifted his brows at her in question.

"Well, the past two visits you have made have been on account of troubles on the surface world." She shrugged.

"…" he thought back to the bracelet that Cailan wore around her ankle, and to the promise he'd made her that day. "It is…a very long story Tula."

"Then you should probably start at the beginning, should you not?"

He looked at her and smiled, slowly shaking his head. "No. I should go to finish it out."

…

_Monday, 9__th__ of July_

_7:09pm_

"You want me to what?" Cailan asked hiding her plushie from Demitri's sight; he'd been acting weird.

"I want you to start choreographing your own dances." He stated, irritated, as if talking to a child.

"…I do. On my own."

"I know. We're going to write a performance." He said smugly turning from her.

She hastily shoved the gift into her bag, her swiftness catching his eye. He furrowed his brows at her, eyeing her suspiciously.

"_We're_ writing a performance?" she repeated, feeling like a parrot, her eyes probing his attitude for what he really meant.

"It'd be a hit, a prodigy like you with my name stamped under the title? You'd be making millions after the first night, I can guarantee it, kid,"

She didn't like the way he was talking. There was an…edge to his voice, a strange tone in how he was talking. It was unsettling, like dancing with Blain all over again.

"I'm not sure—"

"I am. Hah, you're a gold mine," he strode over and placed his hands on either side of the arms of her chair. "You're going to make one hell of a troupe member."

…

_7:36pm_

"I just need you to…mess with her a little bit." She said, crossing her arms and trying to keep her voice calm.

"…I don't get your angle," Blain's eyes narrowed, his mind sorting through her request.

Jennifer sighed. "Look. Just show up _here_," she handed him a slip of paper. "at that time and…mess with her. You know…what you do with _all_ the pretty little skirts that come your way?"

"Hey now, don't be jealous, as I remember, you dumped me," he teased her, putting his hands on her. She slapped them away.

"You're disgusting. Just…do this, meet her there and freak her out a bit. Or seduce her. Or make her feel terrible, or whatever."

"And why should I?" he demanded, stepping back with a look of disinterest. "I mean, what's in it for me?"

Jennifer knew where this was going. "Do it or I'll have Demitri press all those charges girls have been making since you joined the Gotham Ballet." She quipped smugly. "Now, if I say I want her served up on a silver platter, you're going to tell me…?"

"Medium rare, or well done?" he growled, slamming the door as he strode out.

_What the hell? _Blain thought as he walked along. _I mean, what's the point? She said mess with her…seduce her. And what if the little witch isn't seducible? Hm. I wonder why Jennifer wants me to anyways, I mean, what's in it for her?_ As he walked he strode past a tv with one of Cailan's many current interviews streaming across the screen and he figured he had it worked out. _Ah. Jennifer's jealous. Demitri's attentions are on some new, pretty little thing and she's been tossed to the dust. No wonder she's pissed. Guess she's hoping Cailan will quit if I harass her a little bit…_

…

"Alright, I did what you asked. Date, time and place. Yes, she'll be there, I'm sure of it. So, this is it, right? After this, you'll leave me alone? Hello…hello? Damn." Jennifer swore and slammed the phone onto its hook. All she could do now is hope that those freaks would leave her alone…quit showing up at her apartment, quit stalking her everywhere she went. It was all taken care of. She was going to pick the girl up and then dump her off. Blain would meet her, freak her out a little, get her running, confused. Then…

_Well, whatever happens to her after that isn't my concern. After all, if something _were _to happen, it wouldn't be my fault. She'll be the one who takes off, and takes off because of Blain, not because of me. I won't have had anything to do with it. I can say that she must have gotten lost after I dropped her off, no one will ever know the difference. It won't be on my hands._

She was busy reassuring herself, and didn't notice the shadows playing on her wall from outside her window. Jennifer didn't know that she'd become a loose end, and one that would be tied off quickly after they had their prey well within their trap.

…

_Wednesday 11__th__ of July,_

_7:28am_

She'd thought she'd have wanted to run to Kaldur and show him the very second she'd completed it. But, now that Requiem had been finished, Cailan just felt empty. It was as if she'd finished a good book, or a new movie that'd just come out. Now that she was finished, she felt…

Like a sellout.

This was Demitri's idea, not hers. She'd just wanted to slip away, like the night slipping into dawn. Now here she was, helping him to create a 'masterpiece'.

She could hear him in the back room now, talking on the phone. _"You're a goldmine." _ Shame rippled through her body. She was back to being an object. Cailan sighed and sat heavily on the practice stage. Kaldur didn't think of her that way, hadn't once looked at her like an object, just something else to be conquered and taken. Her fingers traced the floor beneath her as she thought back.

_I haven't treated him well…at all…and he's still taken me back…_ she thought, remembering yelling at him, lying to him, being snide and rude, acting like—_like a real queen bee. _He was so patient with her, with everyone. Guilt crept in. She should at least tell him that she'd finished the dance.

_Yeah, I'll just…pop over and tell him, just, well, because, he—he was interested, concerned about me finishing it. Yeah, that's it._ She told herself, giving herself a reason to go see him, just once more before she split—this time for good.

"Hey!" Demitri barked at her. "Where the hell are you going, we've got a performance to make."

"…I…just need a break Demitri,"

"No, you don't. You need to get your butt on that stage and figure out the sequences. The dance you've got now is alright, but you've gotta put in the chorus dancers, and Blain needs to be worked into it girl. I told you, you're not the only one up here."

"I choreographed Requiem for me, and me alone Demitri. It's a solo dance. It wasn't made for a whole production." She said, bristling and forgetting her intention to see Kaldur.

"Then change it," he said through clenched teeth that were supposed to look like a smile.

"…I can't do that…" she said, her arms crossing protectively over her body; she already felt like a sellout.

He let out a heavy breath. "Cailan, I'm going to say this once. You're going to be _the richest girl in Gotham_ by the end of the month. If you don't want to go back to a nobody by August, you're going to start seriously working on this ballet. You understand me?"

She looked to the ground. She _wanted_ to be a nobody. It was about the only thing she hadn't really been yet.

"Do you understand me, Cailan?" he softened his voice as he walked towards her; she knew he was trying to sound comforting but he only sounded menacing.

"I'm not feeling well Demitri. I think I'm going to go—"

He swore as the phone rang and leapt off the stage, darting for the back rooms. With his back retreating from her she snatched her bag—she was paranoid he'd started going through her things (why he would, she didn't have a clue) so she started keeping it close—and started heading for the back alleyway. She knew, even if it wasn't Demitri, that _someone_ had been through her bag. She'd taken great care to keep the plushie that Kaldur had given her in pristine condition. It was pretty much the only real possession she had, next to the ankle bracelet. Sure, Bruce had bought her nice clothes, but she hadn't really needed anything other than that…and clothes were just clothes. However, when she'd taken it out of her bag a few nights ago, after getting back to Wayne manor, there'd been some kind of smudge marks over the fabric. She knew the smudge marks hadn't come from her.

But it was so paranoid. Who'd want to—

"Cailan!" he yelled; she ran to the door, pretending she hadn't heard him.

…

_7:40am_

"Mr. Wayne does not like you waiting alone for so long, Ms. Leal," Alfred said as he drove her back towards the lone manor. "Please see to it that you do not needlessly endanger yourself.' His words, Ms. Leal."

"Sure Alfred, sorry to worry you all." She said, her voice feeling monotone. Actually, she wasn't very sorry, not about that. They were all going to be a bit freaked for a while, anyway.

After she split, the Bat and the others were probably going to go ballistic. But they'd never find her. She didn't care that the Bat had immeasurable resources at his disposal, or countless superheroes. She'd been a dumb kid and had been able to avoid media, police, and privet detectives years ago. Now she was eighteen. She could change her name hundreds of times, legal and not. She could get tattoos, piercings if she wanted to. She could buy hair dye and change her hair style whenever she wanted with ease after years of cutting it herself.

She knew where illegals got jobs; she could go there, or just start walking down a highway and hop from one car to another. If she got a radio she could find some kid to mess with it until she could hit the cops' radio frequency, and then she could avoid the highway troopers. If she wanted to. This was America. If she wanted to disappear, this great land would swallow her up into the depths and she'd slip through the cracks like thousands of other people her age. She didn't have to be smart. She didn't need tons of money. She didn't need superpowers.

She just needed two good legs to stand on, and to start walking.

"Ms. Leal?" Alfred said, holding the door open.

"Oh, sorry. I guess I've been working too hard. I'm very tired," she said, stepping out into the blinding sun of the morning.

"Yes. Perhaps you should go and rest."

"Yeah…I guess I should," she murmured as she walked into the big house; she suddenly felt that it had devoured her into another world. Almost a year ago she wouldn't have ever dreamed that this could all have happened to her.

"Ms. Leal, there's a call for you," Alfred interrupted her thoughts when she was half way up the stairs.

"Coming."

…

_8:04am_

"Oh, hey Jennifer,"

"Hey Calie."

"Sorry. For just leaving today. I'm not feeling well."

"Hm? Oh, no, I'm not calling about that."

"Oh." Cailan paused for a moment. "Then…"

"Oh, uh, I-I'm calling to…to…"

Cailan listened, feeling something was odd about the call. Shivers slithered up her spine. She distracted herself by watching Alfred take her bag up to her room.

"Cailan?"

"Hm?" her attention snapped back to the call.

"I said I'm calling because I need to set up a meeting with you,"

"A meeting, with who…?"

"Well, that's the thing," Jennifer said, her voice getting lower. "It's another troupe. I can't say who…I don't this to get out and ruin you, or him. But if Demitri knew about this offer, he'd quell it fast."

"Then, why are you telling me?" Cailan asked, only half buying Jennifer's reason for the strange call.

"Because kid, this could be your moment to shine. Demitri wants you to himself."

"Why would you care about my career? All the other dancers only care about themselves. Usually, dancers are done by the time they've hit their thirties. You're going to be there before I am, shouldn't you be out for yourself Jennifer?" Cailan asked.

"That's cruel! I might not be a saint but geez kid, I'm not a monster. Thanks for thinking so highly of me." Jennifer said irately, sounding almost hurt even.

"…sorry. I guess I'm just…cranky." Cailan lied. She wasn't cranky, she was suspicious. People were only out for themselves. Except—

_Except Kaldur…and the others, they _give _for others…_

"Well…look, do you want this or not?" the woman still sounded mad.

"Yes, of course. You're doing me a huge favor, and I'm sorry I'm such a brat about it. Guess all this…fame is going to my head," Cailan said, hoping that covered it.

"Awh, don't worry about it kid. Alright, how about I pick you up…tomorrow evening say? We'll go out and then meet this party for dinner?"

Cailan thought a moment. No one was expecting her here. She'd just tell Alfred that she was going to practice late and get dropped off by someone else. Then, she could take her bag and tell Jennifer that Alfred would pick her up. It was perfect. They'd waste so much time calling around and trying to figure out the different stories of who was supposed to be taking her where that she'd have plenty of time to get the hell out of dodge and disappear.

"Count me in Jennifer."

…

_Thursday 12__th__ of July_

_5:54pm_

"So, we were thinking…you could come back to the clubhouse and we could…you know, maybe play that game you told us about after dinner—Megan's cooking tonight, well, she does every night, but she's making it—"

"I can't Dick," Cailan said, wincing inwardly. "I mean, I scheduled to meet someone with Jennifer today…"

"Oh," Dick nodded; Cailan bit her lips hard, feeling horrible for brushing him aside.

"B-But I can see how early I can get out of it and…maybe call you and still be there in time for a late desert, or…you know Wally, a midnight snack even?" she said, trying to hide the hopeful melody on her voice. She hadn't realized how much she was going to miss them until she'd started seeing them less.

Dick gave an appeased but glum smile. "Sure Cailan, we'll see you around seven, seven thirty?"

He looked tired. He worked hard, on the one had part of the Gotham duo, on the other part of a covert and highly functioning team of kid-superheroes. She felt almost sorry for him as she told him of course and to save her something Megan made for when she got there. He was losing his childhood—flashes of light struck through her memory like a violent stab; tires screeched in her ears, metal grating against concrete echoed in the recesses of her head. Cailan blinked. The visages of the car crash were gone as she walked through the door into the bright, streaming light. Dick had lost his family too, hadn't he?

_Yeah, I'm sure he did…_ she thought back. They'd died, just like her own had. It hadn't been too recently either, she remembered. _He's been living with Bruce for a long time. He was probably just a kid when they died…how was it? What happened to them…it wasn't a crash, but an accident…_ She wracked her memory for the story she was sure she'd heard somewhere. An accident…what had he been before he'd become Wayne's charge? What type of kid had Dick been before he'd become Robin? A shiver ran through her spine, but not one of fear.

It was a lonesome kind of shiver, like walking into a dark, musty basement filled with trunks and boxes of old memories that belonged to people long dead. Artifacts and dust— the former harboring emotions and recollections that no one now could recall from the deep voids of time that'd past—were all that existed in this kind of basement. It was a sad kind of shiver; Dick was no longer the boy he'd been when his parents were alive, nor would he ever be again, nor would that boy have a chance to grow up and become a man. Dick's path, his whole person had changed when his parents had died.

Just like her. If her parents hadn't died, maybe she wouldn't be so reluctant to get close, maybe she'd be better to Kaldur. Maybe she'd be worse; perhaps her parents would have spoiled her in her youth, until it was too late by the time she'd become a teen for the damage to be undone. Maybe if her parents had been alive she'd be in the school's girls' bathroom, gossiping right alongside Amy and Meg. She probably would have given up the tight-rope of image and self-respect a long time ago and gone with image, sleeping with any guy who dated her for longer than a month.

Cailan straightened as Jennifer's car pulled up towards the driveway. _Tightrope…_ Her mind raced back to years ago, she'd been about twelve, really just starting her life on her own. It'd been all over the news they played on window tv-sets, the radio, even plastered in just about every news paper. There had been a tragic accident at the circus that'd come to town—something her parents would have taken her to see, she remembered she'd cried over it. There'd been an accident, a man and woman had died when an act went wrong or something.

"Well, wha'cha waiting for kid, get in! We gotta get going," Jennifer said, waving her arm to the car door; Cailan again heard the edge on her voice.

"Where's the meeting at?" she asked as she buckled herself in, Jennifer already driving faster than she should have down the pristine and mile-length driveway.

"We were supposed to meet him at Johnny Casoni's, you know that restaurant not far from the Modern Troupe? But I got a call saying he was going to be just a little late tonight." Cailan's heart sank at this. She'd probably be even later now, maybe late enough Dick would just leave without her.

"So, where will we be meeting him now at…?"

Jennifer smirked. _Dang, this kid sure is nosey. Dumb brat. _

"Well, he's in a meeting now so he hasn't been able to tell me just yet. I figure you and I can shop around for a bite to eat and then when he calls be ready to get there, eh?" Jennifer said, glancing in the rearview mirror too much, her eyes darting over to Cailan.

The girl felt the looks and turned her gaze to the window; it didn't help to settle her nerves. She didn't like something about the way Jennifer was acting, though, she had nothing to go on because she'd only know Jennifer inside of dance rehearsal. _She could just be worried that Demitri will get angry with her, maybe about what will happen to her partnership in the Troupe. _The girl thought.

"Why were you in such a rush to get going, if the meeting time has already been changed?" Cailan was unable to stop herself from asking, finding herself wondering out loud.

Moments ticked by in an uneasy silence. Jennifer swore under her breath, it sounded to Cailan. There was no radio going, so the woman couldn't pretend she hadn't heard what had been asked. But the length between the question posed and the eventual answer that came out of the woman's lips was too long to be true, and both of them knew it. Cailan felt a knot growing in her chest.

"Oh, well, I guess I wasn't really thinking. I'm just so pumped up for you to meet him that the moved back meeting time meaning more time to kill didn't really register, you know?" Cailan heard her speaking through closed teeth and the sliding of paper against paper. In another second there was a clicking sound before a fswish sound; she didn't know Jennifer smoked cigarettes.

"So, who is this guy who's so interested in meeting me?" Cailan asked, clenching her hands in her lap as she turned her head slowly to Jennifer knowing that her voice betrayed her suspicions while still praying that she was a good enough actress that it hadn't.

"Gawdammitkid" the woman swore through an exhale of smoke as she bit on her cigarette.

Cailan heard the click as the electrical locks slid into place where her hand couldn't get to them. "Well, he must be pretty powerful, and a big rival of Demitri, if you can't tell me his name even now that we're alone," Cailan said, smiling at the woman and hoping she was doing a good job of playing dumb. "It's kind of exciting, actually."

She saw Jennifer's eyes dart once again to her face and tried to keep the innocent smile there for a second longer before settling back (trying to make her body comfortable-looking) into the seat and looking again out the window. She couldn't tell if it was working or not.

…

"How does a sub sound?" Jennifer asked cheerfully as she pulled into a street-parking space and leaned through her open window to check the price of the meter.

Cailan's heart was racing in her chest. _Is she really going to just let me go? Was I just being paranoid? She locked me into the car—but maybe she just forgot to lock the car door when we left Wayne Manor. But then why won't she tell me who this guy is? _

"A sub sounds fine," she lied.

She watched Jennifer hop happily out of the car and was a little dumbfounded when she found she could get out of the car freely too. Her heart now seemed to be like a pack of stampeding rhinoceroses thundering in her chest, so loud the entire street must be able to hear it. This over-reaction made her feel all the more childish. What could she have been thinking—why on earth would Jennifer want to kidnap her, hold her against her will? The thought now rang out as the idle fancies of a bored little girl who still believed in the tooth-fairy.

"Get whatever ya want kid, it's my treat," Jennifer said, a little guiltily. _Well, it isn't like its her last meal…or anything…_

Cailan followed the woman through the dinging door and looked up at the board above the workers with the long lists of sandwiches. They swam before her eyes like wriggling insects and suddenly she didn't feel very hungry. There was a slight disgust welling up in the boughs of her stomach: a disgust for food, for the hot sunshine of the day, even for being near Jennifer. The feeling, she knew, was caused by the niggling fear she still couldn't seem to let go of.

"I'll take ham on white, pepper-jack cheese, all the veggies you've got there, lots of mayo, spicy mustard, vinegar but no oil, honey mustard, salt, pepper, and…throw on a bit of relish too." Jennifer said.

As Cailan watched she swallowed hard, feeling nauseated at the sandwich being made for Jennifer to bite into and consume. Suddenly she didn't feel well.

"C'mon kid, what'll you have?" Jennifer prodded. She was smiling, but Cailan saw in that smile that her face betrayed something else, some dark taint lurked behind her generous offer and the smile she now wore.

_You sound crazy. Just order something you idiot. Faster you eat, faster you meet this guy and tell him you're not interested right now, faster you can leave. Because, that is after all the main objective. You're going to ditch her after the meeting and just disappear. _Cailan reminded herself, smiling back at the woman.

"Uh, roasted chicken on wheat with provolone, lettus, onion, salt, pepper, oregano, oil and vinegar, pickles…just a little mayo, please." She'd gotten the smallest size so she could force herself to eat all of it quickly.

"Mmhm. Looks good," Jennifer grinned again; there was something…clownish about her grin today that was disturbing. "Feeling okay kid?" her brow arched at Cailan, her expression telling the girl that she knew Cailan didn't feel well at all.

"Yes, thanks for the sandwich."

Jennifer chewed a few bites then smiled, the food in her mouth making her cheeks poof out; it was a mocking, unmeant smile.

…

_6:30pm_

"Whew that was good, guess we've got something to burn off dancing now, don't we kid?" Jennifer laughed, a little too loudly it seemed to Cailan, as they got into the car and closed the doors. The locked slid into place as soon as she turned her key in the ignition, making Cailan wonder what the clicking sound she'd heard earlier had been. "Alright, seems we're going to be meeting him at this place a ways out, down 145th street. Looks like we've got time to make it."

Cailan again turned to the window, her brow furrowed. Jennifer hadn't once checked her phone since they'd left the car for food. 145th street worried her too; it was either at one end of the city with the big ritzy houses that were modeled after Wayne manor in size and vast awesomeness, or the other side of Gotham, the main street to the narrows. This was one of the main streets of Gotham and ran right through the city, almost a perfectly straight line that ended in the ocean on the wealthy side and bled out into the highway on the other.

"I'm glad you remembered," Cailan said, letting a smile sift into her voice by pretending she was talking with her friends.

"Hm?"

"Where we're going, you said you couldn't remember because you didn't write it down. I'm glad it came back to you, must be the food," Cailan said.

"Haha, well, everything's always better on a full stomach," Jennifer said, not committing to a definite answer, her voice unsure.

A shiver ran through Cailan; she felt cold all over. She shouldn't have gotten back into the car. Panic struck her now; she didn't know what was going on but Jennifer was lying to her. They weren't meeting any guy, at least, it didn't seem to be that way.

"Jennifer, can we stop somewhere real fast?" she asked, crossing her legs in an attempt to act the part.

"Huh? Why," suspicion rang through Jennifer's voice.

"I…well, it's that time of the month and…I need to, you know," Cailan lied, adjusting herself in her seat and praying that she looked legit.

Jennifer sighed. With the next green light the car lurched forward, sending Cailan back deeply into the passenger's seat. "We'll just have to get there a little faster then, you should have time before the meeting.


	25. In the Throws of the Deep

_Thursday 12__th__ of July_

_6:47pm_

"Stop the car Jennifer," Cailan said, now looking straight ahead through the windshield.

"Heh, don't tell me you're chickening out on this deal," the woman's lips went tight, her focus boring into the road in front of her.

"Yeah. Now stop the car." Cailan was getting increasingly worried. They were getting farther and farther from the welcomed bustle of the city and deeper into the heart of the Narrows.

They were already far into the decrepit wastes of Gotham; it would take her hours to walk back to a decent part of town, probably longer to get back to Wayne's manor. If she could get out of the car. The locks were automatic and Jennifer wasn't about to let her out from what she could tell.

"Look kid, you might not believe me, but this meeting is for your own good," Jennifer said, taking the tone she'd used on kids younger than her all her life.

"We both know that's a lie," Cailan managed, almost flippantly. Her hand wandered to her side.

Jennifer sighed; Cailan heard how it shook as she exhaled. "This meeting could be the turning point in your life,"

The way she said that told Cailan everything.

…

Cailan held her breath; Jennifer didn't seem to notice the soft click of the seatbelt. Talking only seemed to put the woman on edge and Cailan didn't want to ruin the only chance she may have. However, this was probably the most stupid thing she'd ever done. Biting down hard on her lip Cailan slipped from under her unclasped seatbelt and lunged for Jennifer, shoving the woman into the car door; Jennifer's hands clenched to the wheel to steady the speeding machinery, suddenly desperate not to yield to Cailan's hands. Except that the girl's hands hadn't gone to the wheel of the car. With a sudden jerk Cailan twisted the keys from the ignition and tore them out, recoiling, though, not soon enough.

The car kicked off and both Jennifer and Cailan slammed forward. Jennifer's face hit the wheel of the car with a vengeance while Cailan's shoulder collided with the dash. While the woman was stunned Cailan fumbled with the keys, terrified she wasn't going to be able to unlock the car before she was fighting with Jennifer over them. The woman before her opened her eyes heavily, blinking at her in stunned disbelief. Seeing her face staring back at her, Cailan fumbled the keys and dropped them to the floor.

Jennifer's hands were reaching for her, her eyes wild, blood dripping down her forehead. Cailan's body was pressed hard against the dashboard, one hand blindly gripping for the keys. There was a sound, much like the sound of a soda can getting crushed—she'd heard it before and couldn't help screaming. They'd only been rear-ended, but the jolt was enough that Jennifer suffered another head-to-steering-wheel-blow. Cailan snatched the keys and frantically pressed the unlock button. Her hand reached behind her and she tumbled out, her back colliding with the hard pavement.

People were gathering around the cars now, two alarms going off and someone was yelling from the other car, demanding what the hell had just happened. Cailan flipped over and attempted to stand but after being rear ended like they'd been her legs were unsteady and she fell back to the ground. Her heart was throbbing in her chest, her head was grating with electricity. Every inch of her body seemed to pulse, her eyes roved as she tried to see everything. She was terrified she wasn't going to get away.

Her palms were cold and clammy against the hot asphalt ground as she pushed herself up again and took off running unsteadily down the street. Someone was yelling at her, people on the sidewalk were staring but she ignored them and kept going, running blindly. She bolted without a thought around corners and through alleys.

She collapsed into the side of a building, gasping for breath and gripping her shoulder. It was getting darker and here she was, back at the beginning of it all. She heard sirens, yells—she bolted again, squishing herself under an uneven wire fence. She felt the skin at the back of her legs tear with her jeans as she came up too soon, wriggling through. She crashed to the ground, skinning her chin. Twisting around she felt her voice—her very breath—suctioned from her lungs and she was twisting back around clawing at the ground trying to get that hand off of her ankle. She kicked hard and felt her shoe pull off as she jolted forward. Scrambling to her feet and shoving her back stupidly against the dumpster in the alley. There was nothing behind the fence she'd just come through.

Cailan felt her heart roaring in her ears, heard it echoing in the cavity of her chest. She thought she was going to be sick—scratch that, she was being sick. She collapsed to her knees and felt gagged, her stomach dry-heaving until she saw the sandwich she'd just consumed make a second appearance, in pieces. Her body shuddered as she spat to clear her mouth. Were those sirens against the background of the Narrows? There were always sirens going off here.

She crawled towards the fence again. Her shoe was lying there, a neon offense in comparison to the grimy, bitter alley with sludge and slime mucking everything from the floor to the sky. _Your shoe must have just gotten stuck on the fence. _She tried to rationalize, slowly crawling closer to it. Her hand was pale and shaky as she reached for it. Was it even her hand groping and unable to find her shoe? She couldn't seem to focus long enough to make her fingers wrap properly around it. When she finally had it in her hand she threw herself back from the fence and proceeded to attempt to shove it on her foot. She didn't have time to make sure it was on properly; her hands groped hastily for the wall, scrapping her knee as she stuttered to stand. Now she _knew_ eyes were on her, from somewhere. She had to get out of that alley.

"_Cailan"_

She uttered a cry and jumped a mile out of her skin and whirled herself around. Her head was spinning, hear heart going double time—was it the spin or the rushing of blood that was making her dizzy? She crashed into the dumpster again, hit right alongside her eye. Her face erupted in stars on an inky page and her vision split three ways. Her feet slid from under her and knocked the breath from her lungs as she crashed to the ground. There was a hiss and Cailan flipped, twisting her hand away from whatever had slithered over it and leapt to her feet. _Enough of this! _She screamed inside her own head and took off for the opening of the alley.

…

Her breath hitched. The glass was cool against her back as she panted. She was over reacting. She was simply scared after the car crash, that was all…there was nothing to it. Well, except for Jennifer kidnapping her, that helped in the freaky department. But aside from the normal junkies and boozers, the 'gangs' and released-convicts, there wasn't anything in the Narrows that posed a threat.

_What am I thinking? I'm a walking mark here. _

Her legs shook underneath her. This was her chance, right? What she'd been waiting for. She was going to do it. She was going to start walking and never look back.

"Cailan?"

She turned, feeling like she knew the voice, her limbs coiled like springs to carry her in a bolt if she needed to.

"Er…Blain?"

"What are you doing here, and why do you look so…ruffled?" he demanded, looking down on her.

She faltered; of all the people she could see, she couldn't find how to explain his appearance. "…Jennifer…" was all she said.

Something glinted through his eyes. Then he gave a wry smile and sighed, his hand roving up through his hair. "So, she tried it again?"

She blinked at him, her eyes questioning.

"Well…a few years back we had this girl—not quite the upstart you are, but she was good and Jennifer…didn't handle Demitri's intensity towards the girl well. She…chased her off." He explained, his smile twisting into a grimace.

Cailan felt empty for a moment. Anger surged through her, her hands clinching hard at her sides. She stood there seething at him. "Jennifer was unstable this whole time and no one bothered to mention it to me?" she demanded, startling him with her outburst.

"…woah—"

"The woman belongs in a psych ward and she's gallivanting around luring dancers into kidnappings and car crashes and tormenting them with fear because she can't handle that she's not an amazing dancer and that she's getting old!"

Her body was shaking hard now. She was losing it; there was something welling up inside of her—had been welling up for a long time. The meltdown she'd had at school had stemmed it, for a time, but over the past few months it'd slowly crept back in all the side looks she'd gotten, all the nasty remarks she'd been on the receiving end of. The creeping sensation of this feeling had twisted in her slowly as she was judged and as she acted out recklessly against her friends to keep the feeling away. She felt like she was finally boiling over, like something was going to snap.

"That freak nearly killed me today!" she continued, her voice starting to carry, drawing the attention of passersby; Blain started getting nervous at her reaction, at the attention they were getting. "And you're telling me that all you a**holes in that d*** dance troupe knew she was unstable and didn't do anything about it?"

Blain's face suddenly twisted in a quick flash of rage and he lashed out, gripping her shoulders hard and giving her a rough shake. "Cool it kid." He growled.

She struggled and jerked away from him; her shoulders ached where he'd held her fast, throbbing dully.

"Just calm the hell down," he warned, taking a step towards her. "Jennifer's a great woman. She just stresses easily. She seemed to like you."

There was an edge to his voice; Cailan bit her tongue to keep from screaming at him. She wasn't even sure that she was really that riled up about Jennifer—there was just something that was about to burst in her and she wanted to unleash it on the first excuse that came her way. But the tone in his voice cooled the fires licking her nerves raw. She recognized the warning in it and remembered how much bigger he was and how much stronger.

"What was this about her kidnapping you?" he asked, his voice a marriage of skepticism and concern.

"…she told me that there was some high up dance guy I had to meet, he wouldn't take no for an answer. Then she drove me out there and…" she paused, unsure what to tell him. If she'd stayed, there would have been police that she could have asked for help.

He was sure to ask her why she'd run from the crash. And what could she say? That she was planning on running away as it was? She was old enough he couldn't legally stop her…

"C'mon," he slid the coat of his business-casual suit off and slid it carefully over her shoulders. "Let's get off the street kid,"

…

Fatigue overtook her and she let him guide her along, not paying attention to the streets they took or where they were going. Sure, Blaine was a pervert and a womanizer, but he also wasn't that bad of a guy for helping her out.

"So, what happened to Jennifer?" he asked her as they were walking, his hand keeping her constantly at his side, as if she were going to try to run from him.

"…she crashed the car." Cailan finally answered him.

"And you ran?" she couldn't read his voice; was he cynical about it, condemning her—condoning her fear?

"I wasn't thinking. I was scared. Of course I ran, I didn't know what else to do." She bristled, trying to inch a little away from him.

"Relax. I'm just curious as to how you came and got yourself lost out here in the Narrows."

"I wasn't lost." She blurted out the lie before she had a moment to think on telling him this.

"Oh, no?" he didn't miss a beat, sounded almost playful, even. "Hm. Then I guess you knew that you were heading straight into the heart of the Narrows, the only place where the worst criminals, out on probation for god knows what reason, can get a place to stay—if they don't kill each other first—didn't you?"

She ground her teeth together. "What were _you_ doing down here?" she turned the question to him, sounding as innocent as she could.

"I had a meeting scheduled for today." He replied nonchalantly.

"In the Narrows?" something wasn't right.

"Hey kid, don't look at me, I didn't pick the place okay? Usually I wouldn't be caught dead in this rat hole."

"What kind of meeting?" she asked; she thought back to questioning Jennifer, but she couldn't figure out why her mind was taking her back to that situation in this one.

"Oh, I was just set up to meet a prospective dancer," he said almost before she'd finished her question.

The ease with which he relayed this information didn't quench the uneasiness that was now growing with her.

"A dancer?" she asked. "Hm…wouldn't imagine a place like the Narrows would hold talent you'd be interested in," she said tersely, letting him draw whatever conclusions he wanted from that.

_Clever girl._

…

They hadn't been walking for very long down the alley. It was dark and Cailan realized that Blain's hand was no longer on her shoulder, that she'd lost him somewhere. She started to turn to look for him, thinking he'd just tripped or stopped to make sure they were in the right place or something.

Something soft covered her nose and mouth from behind and she felt Blain's arm wrap around her upper torso. There was a strong smell—Cailan went slack in his arms. He held her there for a moment then he took the chloroform drenched rag away from her mouth and shifted her weight in his arms.

When his grip around the girl's body had slackened she elbowed him hard in the gut and threw herself forward. She had to blink hard; any smart person with the capability to think could understand that if they were to ever have their face covered with a chloroform rag to just hold their breath and try and wait out the attacker. Not that she'd come up with that on her own; suddenly she was grateful that when she'd heard Dick and Wally talking she hadn't just laughed and pushed the conversation from her mind. She'd have to tell them someday that their dumb joking conversation had saved her life.

Maybe.

Her head was groggy; when she threw herself from Blain's arms she crashed to the ground and jarred her knee on the broken concrete. Her mind swayed, her vision tumbling around; there were three Blains standing up in front of her. She felt like all sorts of ball-bearings were rolling around inside of her, trying to force her body to several directions and positions all at once. She finally managed to roll over onto unsteady feet and take stuttering steps down the alley.

"HEY!" Blaine yelled, charging after her.

At the rate she was moving he'd catch her again; she couldn't send the brain signals down to her feet to get them to move faster, to carry her far away. Her mouth wouldn't work to scream. She had no idea what was going on, but there was something trying to click—the meeting Jennifer had been taking her to, the fact that Blain was there, supposedly meeting with someone….

_Are they…doing it together?_ She remembered thinking before she tripped over some garbage and face planted. Crawling to her hands and knees she felt a hand grip her hair and pull her to her feet.

"That wasn't very nice," Blain growled, his face inches from hers.

She had to blink hard to make her mind work. _What do I do…what do I do…_

He took a cell from his pocket as he held her fast by the wrist—she thought her hand would fall off.

"Hey. Yeah. No worries. You might have f***ed up but I got her. Where? Right."

He closed the phone and slid it into his pocket; he was rocking before her, sliding back and forth. He was doing it to disorient her, she knew he was.

"Now, you and I are—"

Cailan lashed out and clawed his face; the action was so violent she actually tore her nails as she raked down and across his face. Her hand felt wet and sticky, but she didn't bother to take time to examine it. He'd let go of her wrist when his hands flew to his face and she'd bolted, stumbling along the dark street corridor only knowing she had to get away. There was a smaller crevice half way towards the exit.

Judging by how she had to walk in it sideways and that when she did she could feel the rough bricks against her chest and her back, she knew Blain couldn't follow her even if he'd seen her dart in here. He was still yelling, so she wasn't even sure that he had. It was slow moving, trying to squeeze her way and wriggle down the passage, but there was a light at the end and she was sure that it went to a bystreet or possibly even a main road—if it did she could get the heck out of here.

It wasn't a main street, when she'd gotten there after hours of hard work and suffocated breaths. She knew it hadn't been hours…or, it was unlikely that it'd taken her that long, and that Blain hadn't come after her if it had actually been. All she knew was that she felt entirely cloisterphobic after that stretch and she was gasping for air when she'd finally made it through.

Filling her lungs with the crappy air helped to stem the effects of the chloroform and she was thinking a little better. Then she was running.

…

Cailan couldn't remember how many turns she'd made. Every time she stopped, even for a moment, she heard another siren or voice or footstep and would take off running again. The Narrows had changed so much in the years she'd been gone, heck they'd changed even when she'd been there. Cailan had long ago given up trying to remember where she'd been or what used to be where; now she regretted not keeping a closer eye on her old life. It was dark now, not quite night just yet, but the buildings and compactness of the Narrows meant it seemed like night hours before it was. She felt blind.

_Calm down Calie, just. Calm. Down. _She forced painful breaths into her chest. Looking around, trying not to jump at any and every sound, all she saw were empty buildings. The bars on the windows were like slit-ed eyes, broken windows like jagged teeth. The buildings were moldy and covered in grime and years of odious scenes, stained with the degradation and sleaze of Gotham's worst. These gaunt buildings crept in on her, twisting themselves around like maze walls, trapping her.

_Just think logically…it's just a maze, and all mazes have an entrance and exit. _

For each breath she took her heart beat thrice; her chest was really like a drum rolling. She held close to the brick and stone walls and tried to keep her pace even as she walked along the streets. Her nerves were shot to pieces and it didn't help to be eyed by everyone she passed. She looked 'rich' and she knew it. Compared to most of those living in the Narrows, the Wall-mart jeans and Target cardigan she used to own were on line with Chanel and Coach. Now that Bruce ordered 'nice' clothes for her she was a walking mark in the narrows. The stares were almost enough to make her take off running again.

_Keep cool._ The girl thought; she held no delusions that she could ask anyone on the street for help. But, if she could make it to a supermarket or grocery story, even a pawn shop, she might be able to use a phone.

"Hey baby, lookin' fine," someone said, taking a step towards her as she passed.

Cailan was like a young, spooked horse. The first scent of trouble she bolted, shooting past the guy she couldn't have described if her life depended on it without a second thought. Disgruntled homeless people pushing carts yelped and growled at her as she shoved her way past them, knocking cans and bottles from their hands, rattling their shopping carts.

…

Blain stumbled back down the streets, trying to get to his car. His phone started ringing and he fumbled inside his pocket for it, still trying to stem the flow of blood from his face. He was swearing profoundly at the pain in his face, swearing at Cailan, swearing at the blood. He only just got it out and answered through the blood.

"What?" he heard only laughter on the other end of the line.

Blain spooked and fell out of his car, his eyes wide through the streaks of blood. He faltered to his feet and scrambled around, looking half crazed. "NO!" he screamed out loud, spinning as he tried to look everywhere at once.

Suddenly the laughter from his phone got louder, as if it weren't coming from his phone but all around him. Blain was scared. "NO! I did what you wanted!" he shrieked out, flailing around.

A figure advanced towards him in the growing dusk, his figure creating an inhuman shadow.

Blain paled and collapsed to the decaying concrete floor and tried to drag himself away.

"It wasn't my fault! I swear! It's not my fault!"

But Jack didn't care whether it was his fault or not. Jack's only concern was that whenever the fire department got around to this parking lot the only thing they'd find would be a pile of charred bone marrow and ashes.

…

"_Cailan"_

Cailan pushed her way through the first door that yielded to her weight. Nearly face-planting on the cold cement for her trouble she scattered to her feet again and started dodging through the thick-aired room. It was dark, like new tar bubbling as it was laid down in the streets.

She threw herself behind one of the large, block support beams of the warehouse to hide. Why she did this she'd be unable to know later—it made no sense to hide in a pitch black building. However at the moment it was the only think that could stop her chest from heaving its way to Timbuktu. She was shivering in the evening, though the night was humid and dense. Her body was riddled with sweaty shakes and clammy gooseflesh. Someone _was_ following her—taunting her.

_You're being way beyond paranoid Calie. _She shivered and sat down on her haunches. _What were they planning then, to kidnap you? For what? _

"_You're worth more than all of Wayne Corp. now kid,"_ Demitri had said. _How much would you be worth if you went missing? _She felt her sandwich threatening to make a third appearance and closed her eyes. What would her family do, what would Kaldur tell her to do at that moment?

_Relax. Calm down, relax, breathe. _

…

She didn't know how long she sat on her haunches like that, trying to settle herself down, breathing in deep but quiet breaths. It was long enough to make her limbs stiff and creak as she stood. _Now, analyze it out, like you've seen Dick do with his homework hundreds of times. _She told herself. She was in a pitch-black warehouse. It was so dark she couldn't see her hand in front of her face—_then close your eyes, get adjusted to the dark._ She did this and prayed deep down in her heart that something or someone didn't come and grab her as she sat there.

When she opened them again, it was still dark, though, she could see hazed shapes and outlines of objects. _That could be enough to find another way out…_ She thought as she pushed herself to her shaky and unsteady feet. With tentative steps she made her way back and to the left, where there was a rectangle shaped outline of a dim grey—which stood out as if it were a stark white—against the black.

There was something in there with her. She knew there was. It was watching her, breathing a stench that only thickened the already soupy air that her lungs didn't want to filter though her body. She felt its eyes trace her invisible body. It could smell her—it was lingering on the twinge of her sweat and shampoo, digesting the difference between what her hair smelled like from what the fibers of her clothes smelled like, from the grime and dirt that were on her clothes. Its nose was breaking her down, scent by scent. Its ears were listening to her steps, already having calculated how many steps it would take her to get to the door.

_It's a countdown._ She thought, trying not to let her heart catch to her throat.

It was waiting for the opportune moment.

…

It could taste the way her pulse was flowing through her veins: her blood was thick with fear. Its eyes traced her, the heat of her terrified body frothing in his sight, telling him exactly where she was. The girl throbbed before him like a radar, telling him exactly where she was, exactly what she was doing.

With every lick of his lips he could feel the way she would taste when he finally had her.

…

_He's not going to get it,_ she remembered thinking just before she trusted her tired legs to carry her the last few yards or so to the door. She was just thinking she could make it, she was going to get through the door.

Until her body collided with the metal of the door, the bar pressing deeply into her gut, bracing her knee with a stab of pain. She was trapped.

A creature behind her, a locked door in front of her. _This can't be happening. _She thought as she tried to force her body hard against the door, as if more of her weight could possibly spring it for her. Her breath started hitching and she began losing the little calm she had left, frantically jamming the door bar, pushing against it, trying with all her might to get it to budge.

She could feel it behind her now, charging at her, growling more foul breath into the air. Her head was buzzing as she heard the claws on the cement ground clicking with a fierce rapidity towards her back as she continued to struggle with the door. It was ten yards, at least, snarling at her back, foam dripping from its snout.

Cailan's legs went weak as she pounded on the door; if she'd been thinking, running would make more sense but she wasn't thinking. She was desperate. It was about seven yards behind her now, roaring out something.

"_Cailan!"_

Four yards.

She let out a sob and her legs gave, sinking her to her knees, her fists weakly striking the metal of the door. She was terrified; she'd had a chance, the door, it _had _to open. One yard.

_Kaldur cupped her chin and tilted her head back. "Then do not worry. I will find you again, I swear."_

With a little scream she lurched forward in time for the hyena's claws to meet with the door instead of her body. There'd been a sickening thud and for a moment she lay there, watching it not move. His chest was slowly rising and falling, she heard him whimper as he stirred.

It was like a dream. She couldn't get to her feet. Her legs were too weak, the ground was sucking them down, like she was trudging through thick mud. Her shoes slipped against the slick cement, her knees cracked against the ground. It shrugged its weight around, shaking its head furiously as she tried to get to her feet. She couldn't breathe now. Her legs weren't getting enough oxygen and she couldn't stand on her own.

It started growling at her and she heard it stumbling around after her. Finally. She pushed herself to her feet and tried to run. She was so slow. It was going to catch her; she could feel its breath on her neck. She knew who he was; she knew Baal couldn't be far behind him. They'd get her, snatch her and—

She didn't want to think about what they were planning to do to her. Baal was still mad from her getting away from him in the alleyway. But her legs—she stumbled again and felt a swipe at the heels of her shoes. She didn't have it in her to run anymore. Cailan couldn't get her legs to run in time with her mind, she couldn't breathe.

Cailan heard a disgusting snarl and felt spittle on her arms and neck. Squeezing her eyes closed she pushed with her toes and lurched forward, trying with all her might to get going. Her steps were like a baby's tottering wobbles. She wasn't going to make it to the door, it was too far. Her legs were too weak.

She used her strength and darted to the side and twisted around some support beams and boxes in the warehouse. Inching her way along, she squeezed herself into a tiny space and held her breath. Like a child she clamped her hands over her mouth and hunched herself up into a small ball. She heard it sniffing, shuffling around.

Shuddering she recoiled further into her hiding place. "Cailan…" it whispered; she could hear the grin on his voice. It was repulsing.

"_Cailan!"_

She shivered again. _"I can smell you…"_ she heard it say, frighteningly close to where she was hiding. She needed something to defend herself with, anything to fight back. Could she fight back? The thing was half animal—

_The Island of Dr. Moreau_ flashed into her head. Half beast-half humans roaming around on an island unsure how to live, reverting back to their animal instincts without Dr. Moreau there to show them what to do. Was that what this hyena thing was? Some hybrid that was created in lab? Had it regressed into its beast self once again to eat her and tear her apart piece by piece?

_Stop that! You're freaking yourself out again. Focus. Find something to strike with, think this out. You can't outrun its four legs and you can't hide from its sense of smell. Think. Were there any pipes…something sharp like broke glass? Maybe a loose piece of these crates you could at least use as a bludgeoning tool? _

…

_9:36pm_

"Guess she's not coming." Dick said; he didn't understand why he felt so let down. It felt like when he'd just been taken in by Bruce, before he knew about Batman, when Bruce had never been around.

"What did you expect," Artemis shrugged calmly, flipping another page of her book.

"She said she'd come…" Dick protested. Rocking back on two legs of the kitchen chair.

"Didn't she say she was going for good?" Conner asked, leaning against the doorway. "And didn't you say that she'd acted weird when you asked her to come earlier?"

"Dick, she'd probably already decided to leave." Megan said, flipping through a cookbook and looking for other recipes she could make for dinner.

"…she said she'd be here." The front legs of the chair slammed onto the tiles of the kitchen, Dick's voice resolute.

Kaldur sighed and retreated back down the hall. Something hadn't felt…right about Dick's story. But, then again, Cailan had told him she was leaving. After the fluke of her performing the lead at her last ballet, it must have become impossible. He supposed she'd found an opportunity to flee, and had taken it, knowing she might not get another one. After thinking it over he decided he might as well join the fray in the living space.

"Do you suppose…we should report that they know about Cailan?" he bounced off his teammates, stroking Wolf's fur thoughtfully.

"Why, they'd just go after her. Wouldn't it make her running off a mute point?" Wally demanded, looking up with glaring eyes from his science homework.

"She didn't run off!" Dick yelled, his chair hitting the floor, a dish smashing to the ground.

Silence hung over them. Even Artemis had to admit that there was a stark difference now that Cailan was out of their lives. It wasn't how she'd thought it'd be. There was a remarkably noticeable void.

"She—"

"You sit down and shut up!" Conner said, grabbing Wally's shoulder and shoving him back into his seat, startling everyone. "No more. No more fighting over her."

"Conner is right my friends. Do not worry, she has taken care of herself before." Kaldur tried to be reassuring.

"You said yourself that they might know about her Kaldur!" Megan said, snapping the cookbook closed.

"She is good at disappearing, M'gann. We know that much when she vanished earlier this year. She's hidden half of her life in plain sight. How much more invisible will she be when she's hiding in secret?" their leader tried again.

"Something could be happening to her." Dick protested, rather weakly now.

"That was a possibility we addressed when we decided not to wipe her memory out, or rather, the League decided." Artemis said, never looking up from her book.

…

Cailan pushed herself farther back. She couldn't think of anything she could used to defend herself, and there wasn't anything else to do. Actually, she wasn't entirely sure that this crevice would hold it off for long; maybe it was strong enough to move the crates and would just get her then. But that did give her an idea.

She struggled, squeezing her body around so that she was facing one of the crates. The wood planks were far enough apart that she could fit her fingers in. If she took off her shoes, she could climb up the things like the rungs of a ladder and get on top. Maybe, from there she could—

"_Cailan! I've found you. Cailan…"_ she heard a scrittching sound at the opening of her hiding place.

Gritting her teeth Cailan kicked off her shoes and worked her way into a standing/crouching position, trying to fit her fingers into the slots of the crates. It couldn't see her, at least she didn't think; it kept scratching and trying it get its nose into her hiding place. She realized in a panic that she'd have to pull herself up by her fingertips for a while, because from where she was she couldn't move enough to get her feet into the slots. It was going to be rough going; she'd have to climb with her body stretched out. Her legs were what were strong, much stronger than her arms anyway. But then, this was make or break time, wasn't it?

Wriggling around like an insect she started to climb, listening to the hyena-meta human claw at the entrance, not daring to look towards it for fear it'd see her climbing and trap her. It was slow moving because the space was so cramped, but also because she didn't want to make a noise and alert her pursuer.

Her arms were trembling as she pulled her upper torso out of the schism, her nails by this time clawing at anything that could support her weight as she armed her way up. Her legs were hanging over the edge from the knee down by the time she rolled to her back and lay on top of the crate, panting. That thing down there was still calling her name, still clawing at the entrance to where she'd been trapped. It sounded angry and desperate now; she even thought she could hear the saliva dribbling down to the floor as it drooled over the idea of sinking its teeth into her.

_Oh…gawd I feel nauseous. _ She thought with that image, a hand clamping over her mouth as she rolled back over, pulling out her legs. She suffered a badly skinned shin, but was otherwise none the worse for wear as she crawled to her hands and knees.

"Haha, didn't think it'd be this easy to get you on your knees," she heard a revoltingly familiar voice crow to her.

"This…isn't…happening…" she panted out, not sure she had the strength to stand up.

That made him roar with laughter, his cruel voice echoing derisively through the empty building like the stench of decaying bodies. She stood erratically on her feet and sketched her way out of this new situation. The one chance she had of anything would be to try and jump to a farther crate and keep going—_like a game of 'don't touch the lava' _she determined. Baal seemed distracted enough at this point that it was feasible.

He only laughed harder when she turned and fell to her butt with a horrified gasp. "Nahow, now Jack, don't burn her too badly. Uncle Joker wants her scared, not spoiled. Hear that Cailan? We're gonna play!"

It didn't matter that she screamed until it felt like her lungs were bleeding. Baal just laughed and down here in the Narrows, in the very pit of Gotham's swill and rancor, girls screamed their hearts still every day of the week. No one took any notice to one more shriek in the night.

…

_Friday, 13__th__ of July_

_11:36pm_

"Is this thing even on?" screeched out on fluttering sound waves throughout Gotham.

"Is this thing even on?" deafened denizens of Metropolis.

"Is this thing even on?" was stuck on a repeated loop as it flashed over electronic billboards in Coast City.

"Is this thing even on?" squeaked through a haze of tv-snow in Keystone City.

"Is this thing even on?" thundered out, shaking windows and rattling anything loose in Central City.

All across America citizens were stopping and starring, parking cars and rear-ending each other, spilling dinner, knocking over cups and pouring so much coffee that it overflowed from mugs.

Joker cackled on screen to the parts of the electronic-capable world. "Why, so it is. Hello there! ! How do you all like my new system? Pretty snazzy hey?"

"What the—" Dick bolted up from the computer, whipping around to find that the echo he was hearing was because Joker's painted face was plastered across the tv as well as his own monitor.

In the space tower Batman's fists were clenched so tight his joints were popping as he looked at the screen; utter hatred radiated off of him.

"Well this thing works pretty well! Hahahah. Now, somewhere out there is my old friend Bats. Hiya Batman!" the Joker sneered, calling the caped crusader out. "Long time no see. I just wanted to let you know before you go over exerting yourself that there's no point in trying to stop my broadcast!" he laughed again, opening an eye wide and getting up and personal with the camera lens. "You see, I've got so many channels going—well, you need them you know, to broadcast to the civilized world—that you'd never be able to trace the links back to the source!"

He erupted into laughter and grabbed the camera, making it shake horribly as he walked somewhere, lights flickering over him as he moved.

"And eheheeven if you _did _managed to locate where this was broadcasting from, you're on a three minute delay; you know how slippery I am Batbrain. Three minutes and I'll be back in the wind! So si'down, get some popcorn. I've got a show that I guarantee you're just _dying_ to see…"

…

"Get this broadcast taken down. Now." Batman ordered, his face beyond livid.

"We need it down yesterday people." Barry said, trying to keep his usual self in place so that things might not be as bad as they seemed.

Everyone saw through it. Things were pretty bad.

…

_Friday 13__th__ of July_

_11:47pm_

"And now boys and girls, Uncle Joker is going to show you all why being friends with superheroes is bad for your health." Joker laughed maniacally into the camera streaming live footage to the world's database.

The hand-held camcorder wobbled around as the cameraman moved from Joker's hideous face to where the twisted villain had grandiosely gestured like a sickly Vana White. All that the camera showed was a chair in the glare of a solitary overhanging light, surrounded by the dark and by shadowed figures. Joker was still laughing, pacing like an animal around the chair, his yellowed teeth exposed in a horrendous grin, hands behind his back. The billions of viewers around the world thought 'it must be a joke!' 'this is just some publicity stunt for the Justice League'. The people of the world had no idea as they watched from their living rooms that the subject of this grotesquery was very real indeed.

The League itself, and its youthful counterpart, were dumbfounded as to how an insane villain—clever in tricks and treachery to be sure—had managed to hack the entire world. The resources, man power and knowledge to pull something like this off were, seemingly, beyond the capabilities of the Dark Knight's nemesis.

"Here we have a known affiliate of the pompous heroes, and their pathetic little team of sidekicks. Why don't you say hello to those responsible for your being here hm…Cailan?"

The mouths of the members of the Young Justice team dropped. It was some trick of the camera, it was a sick lesson the League members were trying to teach them. Their Cailan was not sitting with her hands tied behind her back in the middle of what was doubtlessly going to become a torture room. Their Cailan was not going to be subjected to untold pains—on their account—in just a few moments. Their Cailan wasn't being tested on her loyalty to them, before their very eyes.

"On tonight's segment, we're going to learn a few things. See, little Ms. Cailan here—the beautiful protégé of Gothem city's very own Bruce Wayne—knows some very personal details about the 'heroes' who plague this world. And my men and I are very talented at gaining that kind of information; young Cailan here is going to tell us who our heroes really are."

As he talked, the Joker paced around Cailan, eventually picking up an iron pipe and dragging it along the floor. He tapped it in his hand and grinned in the insane manner that only suited him. As he talked he leered over Cailan who sat, eyes closed and mouth duct-taped, as calmly as possible.

"But before we can get to the really juicy stuff, we have to make sure we can trust what she says." Joker gave no warning as he let the pipe loose, right into Cailan's stomach.

There was a muffled huff as she doubled over—as far as her bonds allowed; her eyes squeezed shut. People who'd been walking down the streets of Gothem in late night shopping stopped and watched the screens and televisions in windows with wide eyes. Metropolis civilians held baited breath as they sat, clutching each other.

Cackling rang out over the sound waves. "Oops, did I do that?"

…

Kaldur watched as Joker's defiling hands tore the tape from Cailan's mouth. The world watched her gasp for breath.

"Now, is your name Cailan Leal?"

The team—the world—was surprised to hear her gasp out a laugh. "No, I'm the freaking Queen of Sheba."

"…Cailan…no…" Robin begged under his breath; he knew any second a call would be coming in from Batman to—

"Aqualad, under no circumstances are you or the others to go after her; that's an order. Leave it to us." Batman growled, his image temporarily overlaying that of the Joker's broadcast.

The teens only half listened; the grin on Joker's face had grown bigger and the pipe came down to the side of Cailan's face. "Tsk, tsk, tsk." He chortled.

The Joker forced her head up. "Now, Cailan, what is your name?"

"Just tell him!" Robin shouted at the screen despite the impossibilities of her actually hearing him. "This guy doesn't mess around!"

The hand held zoomed in on her face; they watched her jaw jump, her eyes flash in anger and calculations. "Cailan Leal."

They breathed a sigh of relief. "What are we going to do?" Wally asked, his eyes shattered.

"We wait, like Batman said." Robin hardly murmured.

"He's going to kill her!" Superboy shouted, his eyes pained; he was watching some freak beat on a girl he considered family. That was not tolerable.

"…no, he won't, the League will save her…won't they Kaldur?" Megan asked, turning to the sea-boy, like the rest of the team, questioning Cailan's fate, wondering what they could do.

…

Cailan bit her tongue; she wouldn't give them up. Nothing was going to get her to talk. Not even the freak looming over her, needle in his gloved hand, grin on his face. She wouldn't give up the only family she'd ever known.

"Hm. Well now that wasn't so bad but I don't think we're going to have an easy time finding out what we want to know," Joker said, as if he were giving a demonstration to the world; he was enjoying this. "So I'll tell you what I'm gonna do kid. Here we've got my brand-spanking new Product X. I think you're familiar with it,"

He flicked the syringe and squirted out a substance that looked remarkably like mercury, although it was bright red and much thinner. With his eyes Joker ordered that Baal bring in someone from the next room.

The watchers at home cringed and screamed. Jake's body—self-mutilated, mangled, malnourished, decomposing and ill-colored lay before the girl in the chair, her eyes big and shocked, her mouth trying to work properly. Taking the moment of her surprise Joker jabbed the needle into her neck, injecting the serum quickly into her veins. Cailan jumped and pulled violently away, tearing the needle out in the movement.

"Now, now Calie, can I call you Calie? Hahaha, that wasn't necessary. See, there's plenty more where that came from and believe me when I say I'm very giving of my gifts. Baal, why don't you tell us what Product X does,"

In the background Baal stepped forward and kicked the body out of his way. Joker slipped into his crowd of cronies and began threatening them with the iron pipe he had, and generally acting insane, cackling every now and again, making what Baal had to say somehow all the more frightening.

"It'll put your nerves into overdrive. A pin-prick will feel like we've driven a stake into your body." He leaned in close, running his grotesque fingers over her arm as he spoke only to Cailan, though, his words and actions were captured perfectly on camera. "And uncle Joker here gave you a full dose which has by now gone into effect—"

Baal cut himself off as he stabbed a long, thin piece of metal—much like a needle on a grand scale—into Cailan's thigh. The location itself, medically, would have brought about relatively little pain; however, Cailan's reaction was hardly contained as she cried out, squeezing her eyes shut. She silenced herself by biting her lip, but the damage was done.

At that point Joker came up behind Baal and knocked him over the shoulders with the iron pipe, sending him into the crowd. The world listened to the sound of metal on concrete as the pipe bounced and then rolled. Joker's face was indiscernible of emotion as he looked off-screen, finally turning his cold eyes back to the girl. "I thought I told you Baal. I wanted her unspoiled."

…

Kaldur was positively shaking. He knew his anger was completely clouding his judgments and that he wasn't thinking straight. He didn't care. He couldn't watch this. He couldn't watch this and do nothing about it.

"You don't even know where she is!" Robin protested haughtily as Kaldur again told him to leave off.

"You might not be able to get there by water," Megan pointed out

"You can't take out all his guys single-handedly," Conner added stoically.

"We're basically not gonna let you do this alone." Wally shrugged, jumping in front of him.

"The repercussions will doubtless be dire once this is all over. I am taking full responsibility. You know nothing about this, chain of command—"

"You're not the only one who cares about her Kaldur." Robin said angrily.

"We would be disobeying a direct order. I cannot ask you to accompany me." Kaldur said, waving them off and sidestepping Robin, determined to get away from them.

To his surprise he was blocked by Artemis.

"We're a team waterboy. You go, we go." She said, her determination at its peak.

Kaldur sighed, defeated. "Robin, see if you can hack into his feeds without his knowing. Megan, see if they're within a six-mile radius of here, perhaps Joker is hiding in plain sight."

…

"You really are making this harder on yourself than it should be," Joker said, feigning empathy for the girl.

She swallowed hard and tried to keep her breathing under control, feeling already her body starting to bruise and swell from where she'd been hit; her pulse quickened with the thought that it was only going to be worse. Worse if she didn't talk, worse if she tried to keep silent.

"Though, it sure is fun for me!" Joker commenced in laughing as he grabbed up a crowbar, hitting decidedly places that wouldn't cause too much damage too fast.

"Now, Calie, let's start with the hunk from Wayne's party, hm? That macho guy with the sleek arms who couldn't leave off you huh?" Joker's grin was disgustingly insinuating, his eyes gleaming obscenities into her mind as he stared at her making rude gestures and a painfully obvious sweep over her body.

"Go. To. Hell." She said sneering at him to hide the terror of what he'd do when she didn't play along.

Joker's wild grin slowly fell from his painted face. He removed his hands from the arms of the chair she was tied to with decisive movements, standing on his long legs unhurriedly, his countenance demure. He hung over her like a disappointed father in every way and she felt sick to her stomach. She felt like she knew what was coming before he did it, like there was a tell in his actions as to how he would hurt her next.

But the blow from the crowbar seemed…different. It wasn't as strategic as the other hits, not as well placed, not as calculated.

_He's doing this because you're being a git and not talking!_ Her mind screamed at her as she sat there, her mind dulled with the pain of metal to her skull.

_What the hell should I be talking about? They're my family dammit!_ Her mind screamed back—she felt out-of-body, watching from above as two halves of her fought. She could end it right now by dishing out some names. Four names, five, six….seven—those would grow in themselves, by their associations. One name would lead to two, two to three that three could lead to six and from there—

_You're not even considering it. Suck it up and stop being such a—_

_Such a what? Such a human being? Stop being such a normal, human girl afraid for her life?_

_They'll save you. _She reasoned.

_Why should they, I left. _ The other half of her said again.

Her argument stopped. She had left. She'd walked out. _She'd _turned _her_ back on them. Not the other way around. She'd disappeared, she'd thrown the first punch—so to speak. She'd lied, she'd ignored, she'd pushed away. It was her, not them. It was her fault she was here, for thinking she was strong enough alone, smart enough alone. She'd gotten herself into this mess.

_No._

She blinked blood from her eyes. Pain like this had never racked her body. The crowbar hit again and she grunted, sputtering a syrupy mix of blood and saliva. She squeezed her eyes tight. She had to be strong; anything for him—had to be strong for her family now.

_This is my fault: all the more reason I need to hold on and _not_ give them up. _

Something rough and cold jutted under her chin and forced her head uncomfortably up and back and Joker's watery yellow eyes were boring into her own. She swallowed hard and hardened her gaze, trying to be resolute. She'd never been so terrified.

"Calie," his voice made her shiver. "You're just not being very helpful."

A wicked grin spread across his face and the people across America with families had by now rushed to unplug their tvs and computers, desperate that their kids shouldn't see this; in coffee houses and internet cafes teens and young adults were silent, their eyes fixed to the screen, briefly uniting them all together in a conglomerate of bystanders.

"Jack," the Joker called softly.

…

"Anything!" Kaldur demanded, unable to sit still in the bio-ship and pacing around like a caged tiger.

"Stop that, you're making me anxious!" Wally complained, starting to bounce his leg.

"Nothing yet; there are so many people tuned on and plugged in that I can't get a read on a strong output of data because there are too many. We can't narrow it down this way guys." Robin shook his head, hunching further onto the bio-ship's keyboard system and typing furiously as if his life depended on it.

"I can't hear anything from Cailan with so many people out there, either," Megan said. Her brow was covered in sweat and she had slowed the bio-ship's pace down considerably.

"…this is not working." Aqualad's voice finally husked; he clenched his fists and tried to take a logical, tactical standpoint, as if Cailan had nothing to do with it.

He couldn't think like that.

"We need Roy,"

"What?" Artemis demanded, outraged.

"Kaldur's right," Wally jumped in fast, eager to enlist their old friend's help once again.

"I cannot lead this team when I am so involved…it would be suicidal to think I could. I doubt that any of us," he added quickly, hesitating with a look on Artemis. "has the ability to distance ourselves from this fight. We need Red Arrow,"

"Artemis could," Megan suggested, her voice weak, landing the bio-ship down camouflaged on a rooftop.

"Excuse me!" Artemis blurted, her face going pink. "I can't—"

"We're running out of options. We've got no idea where Red Arrow is or how long it will take to contact him and get him on board," Dick said, his fingers doing double time as he spoke, as if to make up for the breaths he was taking.

"Besides, you're the only one who didn't get emotionally attached," Wally shrugged, stating the obvious in his meaningful but blunt way.

Artemis' argument was cut short by a strangled, bloodcurdling scream.

…

Cailan turned her face as far away as she could and clenched her jaw closed, feeling bile rise up into her throat. Her body was vibrating with tension; her nerves felt like they were one fire, or being poked with miniscule needles. The new ropes across her chest were tight and had already started rubbing her skin raw through her clothes; the hand around her wrist was like an iron claw splintering her bone like a stick broken in a storm.

She knew if she looked back at the bubbles welling up on her skin the pain would sear into her brain and she'd start screaming again. She knew if she watched the blisters forming on her arm that she'd be sick all over herself. Her heart was going to explode.

Her chest ached from the assault of her heart—it was like a bomb going off every half second—and the constriction of the ropes. She couldn't breaths she wanted to scream her tears were acid down her face and she couldn't stop crying and her arm—

Joker was laughing. "Again Jack, isn't this what you wanted?"

Cailan balled her hand into a fist and bit down hard on her lip. Joker had called in Jack and then while they were fixing her up in this new arrangement he'd giving her another injection of Product X; her eyes were fully dilated, her heart was beating too fast and her nerves were on a rampage. They'd untied her hands, Baal with the iron pipe at her throat, straddling her chain and pinning her down, and bound her chest. Then Jack had walked over and grabbed her wrist.

All Cailan knew was that he'd grabbed her hand and the pain had started in her arm. What Jack was doing, though, was slowly burning from the inside—so to speak. By touching her skin he was able to set a small fire between the skin layers—the fire feeding off of the cells and other bodily normalities—and cause blisters to form quickly without the respite of her nerve endings being destroyed which were therefore functioning and sending pain to her brain and back, despite the third and fourth degree burns he inflicted.

…

"Artemis we're out of time!" Robin pounded the keyboard, his voice breaking.

The blond swallowed hard. Everyone was looking at her—she wasn't a leader! Her heart was pounding; this was too much responsibility, too much work too much trouble, what if she didn't do something right? What if the hostage got killed? What if…what if one of her team died?

_Someone is sure to die if I don't do this,_ she thought to herself. _But I don't know the first thing _about_ leading anyone!_

"Megan, stop trying to find her. You're wearing yourself out trying to do that and fly the bio-ship." Artemis heard herself saying in a voice she hardly recognized as her own.

"Robin, we need you to focus and continue to track the signals. What would make that easier?" she asked, knowing very little about it herself.

"…if I could get everyone in the world to stop using their technology," Dick rolled his eyes and spouted sarcastically.

"Tch, as if," Kidflash said, his voice for once low and angered. "Wait," he bolted upright and was at Robin's side in a blink.

"The only way someone could stream something that big live is if they had a huge set up with a large outpouring of power and a large signal, right!" he demanded, talking a mile a minute.

"Right but like I said with everyone hooked up and tuned in I can't—"

"How big of a power source would you need for that?" KF was on a roll and cut Robin off, to the boy's annoyance.

"Huge." He said through grit teeth. "we're talking like…CNN network-huge."

"Then find places that are putting out that much power," Wally suggested.

Dick froze and stared at him.

"What do you think I've been doing!" the boy wonder roared.

"No, I mean individual places," Wally nudged him over on the computer. "You've been looking for the power itself. Try targeting the buildings capable of producing that much power,"

"Wouldn't that only work if he's working in a facility that already existed for that purpose?" Artemis asked, her brow heavy.

"What do you mean?" Megan asked as she opened her eyes, looking much better than she had before.

"Well, he's obviously put thought into this. He said we'd never find him, so it can't be as simple as hunting down a news building with capabilities of world wide broad cast. He'll have taken a place that's likely secluded and abandoned, one that no one would think about that's out of the way right? Which means he's hooked up the equipment to broadcast and its probably been stolen."

"But there's too many individual components needed to try finding her by tracking the stolen components through the manufactures' individual signals." Dick groaned, speaking computer so that the other's hardly understood him.

"What about shutting down the power to the places we know it _can't _be?" Wally tried next, screwing up his face as he concentrated on the screen.

…

Artemis left the boys and walked to Kaldur, hesitantly placing a hand on his shoulder as he brooded through the window of the ship.

"We need to talk," she said, trying to be as stern as possible; it was so awkward to try and give him an order after she'd been listening to his.

He gave a quick nod and turned to her, slightly towering, his eyes flashing with barely-restrained anger.

"Uh…You…you've got to follow m-my instructions on this," she said, rolling her shoulders back and narrowing her eyes, trying not to let the hilarity of this get the better of her. "If I can't trust that you're going to keep all of us in mind and not just Cailan… We'll leave you behind."

She watched his jaw jump and lightening score through his grey eyes, his tattoos starting to glow faintly. "I know."

"But you gave command to me." she stated, more aggressively than she'd intended to. "Which means you're not sure yourself that you can keep our safety at the highest priority."

The Atlantian clenched his fists and swallowed. "I cannot focus my attentions. I do not question my own priorities Artemis. The team—"

"Can't function as well without you," her voice softened. "Whether because we leave you behind, or you leave us behind on the battle field."

The anger and aggression washed out of him like the tides and his shoulders slumped. "Losing her is not an option." He shook his head. "I do not think you quite understand just how much it is not an option Artemis,"

"I need to know you've got our backs," she said, her voice hardening more than before.

"The team has my deepest loyalties," he said, his voice so full of its old candor that she felt more reassured than she trusted herself to be.

…

"So, like say, do whatever weird-typey-thingy you do to take out all the minor broadcasting places, like radio stations and small tv stations," Wally restated, jabbing his finger at the screen. "Then take out all of the places that are only _streaming_ and not broadcasting, like internet cafes and places of high cell/laptop activity like the mall or a school, or even a business. Then slightly bigger news places, like city wide or tri-state places like that."

Slowly but surely the dots on the screen started bleeping into non-existence on the map they were looking at.

"And look mostly at the less populated areas," Wally said then, getting another brain surge. "It isn't likely that Joker would have her in a city where someone might hear her…"

They all heard his voice catch and the subsequent clearing before he continued. "He'd want someplace thoroughly isolated not just abandoned. You're also gonna want to keep the radius pretty close to Gotham."

"Why would he be stupid enough to stay close to Gotham?" Artemis asked, her attention drawn from Kaldur.

"Because, his main issue has always been with Batman—he's so crazy none of the other heroes' enemies will go near him—and if he has stolen all of this equipment that's already drawing a ton of attention to himself. If he tries to transport that the probabilities of his getting caught increase extraordinarily. Not to mention, she's only been missing since sometime yesterday afternoon. That isn't a long time to go very far, especially since the initial broadcast went out little less than an hour ago,"

"Why don't you always act this smart?" Artemis demanded, arching her brow at him.

He grinned, then realized the underhanded insult. "Hey!"

…

Cailan thought she was going to lose it—the smell of burning flesh was coming from her own arm. Her mind went utterly numb. She was going into shock.

"Now now now Cailan," Joker again pulled at her hair and gave her head a brutal shake, slapping her a little to get her eyes to focus on him. "Don't go slipping off, you haven't said a word!"

She couldn't understand why all the people around her found this so hilarious. Jack wasn't laughing. She swallowed hard, gulping down a dry throat and stale, burning air. It singed her nose. It tickled her throat. She was going to vomit.

"Hmph. No need to be rude." He pouted in her face and, a distant look on his face, gave her another shake by her hair. "…"

An angry grimace shot through his smile and he tore his hand away from the back of her head. "Forget the arm Jackie-boy. Maybe she'll get the idea if she loses something more valuable."

His breath was hot and sticky and foul as it tickled over her ear and condensed in her hair. He paused for just a moment, letting the threat of what was to come settle in a heavy mantle over her, just waiting.

"Tie down her arms again," he ordered, taking a step back and watching as Baal tightened the rope around her burned and damaged arm, the blood and puss running freely and dripping in a light orange mess on the floor.

"How much did you end up getting those gams of yours insured for, eh Cailan?"

She managed one good kick in Baal's gut before her legs were successfully tied to the legs of the chair—Joker stopped the boy from striking her because he'd gotten such a laugh out of her gall. Baal got his revenge when he'd cut open her jean-leg up to her waist and made sure to fondle her leg the entire way. She didn't have the capacity to feel humiliation right now, between the fear and the pain. The humiliation would come later.

…

Every time she came close to the relief from the pain by passing out Joker would make Jack hold off. He'd gotten all the way up her calf before he was told to stop. She had kept her face buried in her shoulder and her neck was kinked; funny, how she was worried about her neck when her leg felt as if someone had skinned her down to bare muscle. Her shoulder was soaked with salt tears and she was driving herself crazy trying not to look at the damage to her leg.

But the things she found herself imagining weren't any better.

"Oh! Why, that's right!" Joker positively squealed through his laughter. "Here we are, palling around, having fun, watching Jack and Cailan play, and I'd plum forgot!"

Cailan wanted to bawl her ; the sick freak was so busy enjoying this that he hadn't asked her about the super heroes for ages.

"Well, whaddya say kiddo? Gotta name for us yet?" he leered at her.

"Just, one, name," Baal whispered to her, getting awfully close to her leg with his jagged, dirty nails. "And then it'll be over,"

As if for added effect he gouged down the blisters, drawing a whimper from his victim. Joker hastened to kick him out of the way and whipped the chair around so that his nose was touching Cailan's. "I want a name."

The tears boiled over and ran down her face. "…you're totally insane…" she choked out in a whisper.

Once again his face fell and he drew slowly away from her. "That is not what I wanted to hear."

"I don't know any heroes in Gotham." She managed on shaky breaths.

Joker looked at her and was less than amused. "Now I know you're lying. You can't try to pretend you don't know anything about _Batman,_ that annoying do-gooder? That damnable caped-crusader?"

She responded with a weak, wry grimace. "Thought that was a vigilante."

Joker's responding blow ripped down her spine as well as her jaw. He barked orders for Baal to get away from her and threatened to bash Jack's already scarred head in with the crowbar. He proceeded to drag it along the ground as he paced around her chair.

"Listen Calie, I feel we're on close terms, know what I mean?" he questioned, having forgotten all about the camera or the broadcast. "I've come to trust you quite a bit and I hope that you can trust me too,"

He paused in speaking and was content to just pace for a bit, dragging the crowbar with an ominous sound echoing. He tapped the crowbar against the floor, against his shoe, he hummed a little bit and then continued speaking as if he'd never stopped.

"Now, being on such close terms, begin able to trust you, I'm going to trust you with a secret of mine." He leaned in close to her ear, then shouted. "I am insane!"

She cringed away from his heinous laughter, and tried to shake off the churning in her stomach as he continued. "And really, all I want is a name. Any name of one of your hero friends."

"What makes you think I've got any?" she demanded, her voice on the verge of hysteria.

"Hm…yes Baal, why did you tell me that this girl knew the pint-sized heroes?" Joker grinned to his flunkie.

Before Baal could answer Joker let fly with the crowbar again and Cailan whimpered as it collided with her uninjured leg, hitting just under the knee. "I want that name."

"I don't have it!"

"Hm. Pitty."

…

"Turn it off," Artemis said, her voice dusky.

It took too long for Dick to move; he was numbed by the visual that the bio-ship had pulled up in regards to his connection to the web data base.

"I said turn it off," Artemis growled now, jumping to her feet and jabbing a button on Robin's keypad harder than she needed to.

Megan was crying; it was like the failure simulation all over again. Only, this time things were real. This time the violence was actually happening. This time, instead of incineration, it was beating by crowbar.

"Guys, keep it together. We're going to find her. Stay whelmed Rob."

They were all numbed, it seemed. Artemis couldn't get the sounds of the beating out of her head; it reminded her too much—

No, she had a case to focus on. "How's it coming with a signal triangulation, Robin?"

"Rob?"

"Uh r-right."

"H-How much," Megan whispered, her voice breaking and she swallowed hard.

"What?" Wally asked, looking up from hovering over Rob's shoulder.

"…how much of it can she take?" she whispered.

"You can't think like that." Conner ordered, bristling. "C'mon, Robin we need that location."

…

"What was that? I can't hear you!" Joker shouted, giving another primal swing of the crowbar, catching her in the chest. "Hm, you know, if you've got a broken lung then that could cause a punctured lung. Totally kills the oratory abilities."

"…there's…" Cailan didn't care about the blood spattering down her disgusting blouse, dribbling down her chin "…noname…"

"I'm getting _really_ tired of hearing that kid."

_Whack!_

Cailan gasped in breaths as her head hung down, her hair a mess around her face. This couldn't go on. She couldn't take much—anymore. She had to say something, had to tell him. Just one name. It didn't even have to mean anything.

_What're the chances you can make up a name that doesn't _actually _belong to someone? _Her mind thought slowly, tuning out whatever Joker was saying as he wiped her blood on the jumpsuit of one of his clown-masked goons. Her blood.

Could she willingly give some innocent person to the Joker, so that bodiless name would suffer just as she was suffering now?

_Sssssskkkkkrrrrrtttt-crishunk! _

She gave a little scream when he dragged the rusted iron along the floor; cried out with it smashed down on her shoulder—broken, or dislocated?

She couldn't take another—

_Thwack!_

"…okay…" she huffed out with a breath; Joker paused.

"What was that?" he held a hand up to his ear and grinned wildly.

"…Okay…" she enunciated, a little louder, trying to use her breath to mould actual sounds. "Alright."

…...

"I gotta have it on or I can't piggy back the signal," Robin said, his voice heavy.

"Fine, but without volume," Artemis relented, a quick look to Megan.

"…_Okay…_" Cailan's voice came over the line. _"Alright. I got something." _

"…no…" Dick's hands fell from his keyboard.

"You're freaking joking…" Artemis growled, hurrying to stare at the screen, as if seeing the scene play out would stop Cailan from what she was going to say next.

…

Nothing was going to stop her, she was on a roll now. Joker's face was pulled and stretched like a Beverly Hills mom on a diet of Botox and his eyes were hungry as he gripped her damaged shoulders and drew his withered white face close to her own.

"What did you say?" the hunger eked out between his yellow teeth with the rot of his breath like termites.

Cailan muttered something, her head hanging on her chest, trying to talk around the bloody spittle. With a snarl Joker gripped her matted hair and wrenched her head back, flattening his nose against her cheek briefly while he demanded her to speak properly and then pulling away, his eyes even more crazed than usual. He was high on the moment.

Cailan drew her lips in and took a deep, shuddering breath. It seemed like, on the other ends of the cables and internet lines, that the world was holding its breath with her in some sort of twisted literary cliché.

Joker's blank white face made the perfect canvas for a spatter of blood. "Go to hell."

…

"Shit." Robin gasped, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Please tell me she didn't," Wally whispered, shouldering his way to look at the monitor.

"Shut up!" Artemis hissed, pushing his face back out of the way and concentrating hard on what was happening.

The concrete room where they all were had gone utterly silent.

…

"!" Baal exploded with laughter, doubling over and rocking on his feet.

His laugh echoed around the room, hallow, empty. Dead.

The echo resounded and intertwined with the explosion of a gun as blood and brain matter and fragments of bone erupted from the other side of Baal's temple.

Joker's face had remained in the position it'd been in when Cailan had spattered his face with a spray of blood. The only changes had been the creases in his forehead, the smile slipping down into a long faced grimace and the drags of the blood drops trailing down in streaks. Apparently, he hadn't thought it was funny. He'd pulled the gun with surprising speed and blew Baal's brains out with unquestionable precision. Cailan was hoping that her heart had stopped from all the drugs he'd been pumping into her.

She had no idea what to expect now. She was in idiot. A total, complete idiot. She was going to die. Just a matter of seconds now, despite the silence that had been growing since the echoes had stopped bouncing off the walls of the underground parking garage. Any second that gun would come at her.

But it was Joker's eyes that came at her, narrowed in anger through their watery yellowness. She felt her blood run cold at the look on his face.

Cailan heard the sound of metal colliding with her head through her skull.

…

She couldn't understand why she wasn't dead yet. There'd been this moment of emptiness where dark had blanketed her and warmed her through her core. And then somewhere in the blackness where she supposed her head must be, Cailan felt a dull, horribly aching and throbbing mass. Red started to etch through her vision, stinging her eyes like sweat in a cut. Then she was aware of a pain in what she guessed would be her shoulders, like they were being stretched as if she was a rubber doll on the brink of tearing.

After a few blinks the world started to sift into view like the falling granules of sand from an hourglass. She heard sounds as if she were listening underwater, long and muddled, all deep tones that she shouldn't understand.

_Why? Should be dead…should just talk…my…hands….are loose?_

She was aware of her body being nearly doubled over, the binds on her wrists slack, her finger tips were nearly dragging the floor.

"I said get her up!" Joker's voice raged out distinctly.

Her hands were untied. Her heart was thundering again. Could they hear it? Joker was yelling again—someone was moving too slow. Too slow, like her mind working. Unbound hands, untied hands—her fingers drifted over the floor, trying to get to her ankles. Just loose it a little bit, those ropes around her ankles. Just loosen them…

Something putrid and sharp floated into her nose and her body jerked up uncontrollably.

_It's now or never!_ Something in her head clicked; it was like someone else had control of her was guiding her. Joker's last hit had to have knocked a screw or two loose, making her think there was someone in her head telling her what to do. It couldn't be much more than primal instinct. Besides, her head was aching so much already, crashing it into joker's crony's did little more to her.

After that she tumbled forward, skinning her ankles as she disentangled herself from the binds to the legs of the chair. She'd only managed to stumble to her feet before someone grabbed her by her hair. She knew this trick: a solid elbow to the gut and she ducked around behind him, bolting for the shadows.

Joker was roaring in laughter; somewhere at the back of her mind Cailan realized that she was probably only antagonizing him and that there was little chance of her getting out of the building, let alone getting full away. She heard footfalls behind her and crouched herself into the first dark corner she found, pressing her hot and aching body against the cool cement, praying for respite.

Respite didn't come.

"Hehehehahah! You got spunk kid, I'll give you that. Ya got spunk." Joker crept along the shadows, his yellow eyes twisting this way and that inside his deranged face, looking for any glimmer of movement. Someone suggested using Hyena to sniff her out.

Joker rejected the idea, saying something about how it would ruin the fun. Cailan shivered at his voice and her knee knocked over something metal. The resounding clatter struck Joker's ears and he slinked towards the sound with near glee, like a child on his way to the merry-go-round. He threw his body around the support pole where she'd stowed herself, his face grinning maddeningly as it whipped to face her. It dropped comically to a sneer when he found she'd moved on. It brightened, again, in quite the comic fashion, when he realized that she couldn't have gone too far. His motions were caught on camera, showing the connected world just how child-like he was.

While he was trotting off, his quick eyes scanning any possible mode of her momentary escape, Cailan had moved herself into a slot in a pile of junk, stabbing her back on a bit of broken something, skinning her knee on the rugged floor, catching her arm on some hanging do-hicky. There was something that had once been soft under her hand, now rough and caked with age and grime. How long could she hide here?

Not long.

"Oooh, what do we have here?" the madman cackled in glee, snatching her ankle and attempting to pull her out.

Cailan screamed and kicked her foot hard, causing an avalanche of junk to topple down on top of her. Somewhere, dimly through the whole mess she heard him laughing, taunting her through the rubble. Trying not to hyperventilate, Cailan squirmed, bringing something blunt down on her head. She swore but kept going, attempting to dig through the cave of debris she'd buried herself under.

She clawed and punched until she wriggled herself out from under the pile. Her leg and arm were screaming at her and she felt grime and flecks of whatever was in that junk pile that had skin that rusted stuck to the puss and blood that were oozing from her wounds. The darkness was her only friend here. Maybe, if she could just keep them off of her long enough—

"Now Cailan that's not being a good girl, don't run off when I'm talking to you!" Joker wailed out, his voice sing-song-y.

She spent the next fifteen minutes dodging bodies and weaving in and out of the shadows like a ghost. Suddenly she found herself thanking whatever powers-that-be for the death of her parents, subsequent adoption by her aunt and uncle, their blatant neglect and her final voyage into the depths of the Narrows all those years ago. If not for all that, she'd be dead by now. Or, at least back in Joker's claws. Of course, she didn't register that if her parents hadn't died in the first place then none of this would be likely to be happening now; she was only concerned with the fact she'd accumulated enough tact and skills to keep her going.

"Hm. Alright, now I'm bored," Joker complained after he'd just missed her by inches around a junked car bits.

_Where the heck am I?_ she hissed furiously inside her head as she tossed her body around the frame of the old voltzwagon bug.

"Let out the hound," Joker's voice was dull as he spoke; he'd become preoccupied with messing around with the camera, watching himself move his jaw and flare his nose.

Cailan couldn't help but vomit into the darkness. She was in pain and scared to death; one run in with that metahuman freak had been enough for her. Now the Joker was sicking the beast on her. There was little in her stomach to resurface—the remnants of a sandwich she'd had who knows how long ago by this time and the empty stomach acids inside her. The beast's claws skittered across the concrete ground too close for her to stay in her hiding place.

Her little game of cat-and-mouse wasn't going to cut it anymore. She needed something else, something better. If she was going to bide her time till rescue, she had to come up with something, fast.

_Something they won't expect…but Joker's _insane!_ How can you con a professional, mental, con?_ She rested her head against the wall and almost cried. She didn't want to try what she was thinking of trying. Her leg hurt too badly, her head was throbbing and she couldn't see straight. Her body ached and she didn't think she had the strength to keep running.

_Don't be such a baby,_ a sneering voice said inside of her—a voice that came from the mean mouth of a frightened and bluffing kid trying to make her way in the narrows. _Toughen up, suck it up and do it._

Cailan let out a very shaky breath and opened her eyes. _Here goes nothing—_

_***I am so, so, so, so, so, so, SO incredibly sorry my lovelies! I can't believe I haven't updated in almost a month! Please forgive me—I simply got so caught up with classes and essays and midterms that I truly didn't give my story a second thought until the latest episode of young justice aired Saturday! Hope this gets posted in due time and please remember to keep the reviews coming! 3 much love **_

_**Note: I also pretty much made up anything medical that happens in this part of the story, such as the fire bit with Jack and Calie's arm and am in very little ways trying to be realistic or plausible. **_

_**And sorry for the cliff hanger…again. it's just too long to keep going! 31 pages! **_


	26. Breath

"Robin!" Artemis growled, punching the controls to mute the tv and minimize the window. "We need that location."

"There's nothing around Gotham that's putting out that much power," he said, typing furiously.

"Rob c'mon—"KF started, holding up his hands.

"Man there's nothing here!" Robin roared, hunching farther over his keyboard.

"We're losing time she doesn't have," Megan swallowed hard, trying to keep calm and regain the energy she'd used.

"We're not flying," Conner noted, looking up at Megan.

"There's no point if we don't know where we're going." Artemis said flatly.

"No, I mean, if Megan isn't flying…try telepathy," he suggested.

"It's only good within six miles…" Megan said.

"We have nothing else," Aqualad said, his shoulders tense as he stared out the window, feeling utterly useless.

Megan inhaled deeply and tried to concentrate only on Cailan. There were so many voices, so many thoughts about her floating around in the city.

…

—Cailan pushed herself from the cool wall and burst from the shadows at full speed.

Adrenalin kept her body from collapsing into shock from the pain and her wounds; just like she'd thought Hyena was already charging at her head on. Cailan didn't hear what Joker was saying, didn't listen to her heart trying to erupt from her chest, didn't acknowledge the driving pain burning through her nerves or the drugs making her brain flicker like a child playing with the lights. She simply ran like a bat out of hell head on for the beast tearing across the concrete towards her.

Perhaps it was the drugs in her system. It was in slow motion. She saw the claws glisten and she went down; it was a fall she'd learned in gymnastics and somewhere (through the haze of being high on terror, product x and adrenalin, nestled at the very bottom of her mind) she was thanking God that she'd been convinced to participate on the team in high school. The move was used when an athlete had too much momentum—actually, it was pretty much a baseball slide. The only difference was that gymnast got wicked mat burn.

This time Cailan lost quite a bit of skin as she ate concrete—and she ate it hard, feeling her hip connect with the ground with a final sort of brutality—as she slid under Hyena. While he was crashing face first into the wall she was using her momentum to propel herself onto two feet and dodging around.

She lost a shoe as she jumped on the chair she'd been tied to and off of the back of it, grabbing for one of the broken lights. Someone had grabbed her foot and tried to pull her down; she'd ripped open her hand hanging onto the wire cage around the florescent light. Her shoe came off though, and that made the end of that. Joker stood underneath the light laughing at her.

She was busy scrambling to a secure position. The light was old and already coming down. It wasn't going to hold her for long. However, now that she was here her body was starting to give up. She hurt. Shock would take over soon and she'd pass out—if she was lucky. She had to get some place where he couldn't touch her.

The light exploded in her face and she wrenched her arm as she twisted away. With one hand holding onto the cage she hung there, scared to death of falling. Not because the fall would kill her. No, that wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen. Jack had sent a fireball at her and hit the light. It'd exploded, sending her rolling around the side to get away from the glass and quick fire. She'd kept hanging on though, and she'd wrenched her shoulder out of place. Blood and puss ran down over her arm and collected inside a well in her collarbone.

If she let go, the fall could break her legs.

…

"Megan stop," Aqualad said, his voice so grave they could hardly hear him.

"What?" Robin asked, his fingers freezing over the keys.

"Stop trying to find her." Kaldur said, still facing the view.

"We're not giving up—" Artemis started.

"It is not that. Megan will not be able to find her. Remember? Joker injected Cailan with Product X. The point of that toxin is specifically to alter the brain. Megan's telepathic powers will not work while Cailan has it in her system."

"Rob," Wally put a heavy hand on the kid's shoulder. "It's all you man."

…

"Why is that not down!?" Batman roared at the command place, turning for the first time in hours from his own task—he'd been trying to locate Cailan through the mess of Joker's broadcast.

"Bruce," Wonder Woman said quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

The dark knight shrugged her off violently and returned to his own task. This time, he might just kill Joker. He was becoming angrier by the second.

"Do we know how he got her in the first place?" Flash asked, looking up from the powwow he'd been having with Green Lantern and Superman.

"Cailan had a meeting with a woman from the Gotham Troupe named Jennifer. There was a minor traffic accident involving Jennifer's car at approximately six fifty. After that, Cailan disappeared off the grid until Joker's broadcast." Batman said, not bothering to stop what he was doing.

"How did she just disappear?" Barry probed.

"The traffic cams and witnesses say that she got out of the car and just started running," Superman said, looking up from his position at the computer.

"Why would she do that?" Barry asked, putting a hand to his chin and starting to pace slowly. "If it was just a little accident, why would she take off running?"

"It's possible that the accident brought on a mild case of PTSD." Batman said emotionlessly.

"PTSD?" Barry asked skeptically. "You're joking, right?"

"No. When she was a child she was in a terrible accident on the highway that claimed both of her parents' lives. It's possible that the accident she was in sent her into a panic brought on by PTSD. In her panic, she ran."

"Where was she running to?" Diana asked, pulling up traffic shots of the accidents from different street corners and angles.

"Wait, it looks like Jennifer was taking her into the heart of the narrows." Superman started, coming over to stand next to Wonder Woman.

"I've already looked into it. Jennifer was killed shortly after the accident; someone injected air into her veins. When it got to her heart, her heart stopped." Batman said, not bothering to look up at them.

"Wait," Barry said, walking over to the group. "Then—"

"They assume it was one of the traffic officers who arrived on scene; he didn't arrive in a car or with a partner, and he disappears shortly after medics attempt to revive Jennifer." Batman continued dully, as if this was common information they should be well aware of by now.

"If Jennifer _was_ taking her for Joker, why kill her?" Auquaman questioned, his own attention peaked.

"A loose end. She played her part." Batman suggested callously.

"But that doesn't make sense," Green Arrow protested, crossing his arms. "Cailan got away from Jennifer."

"Even so, if Jennifer was to be questioned by the authorities, her story wouldn't add up. There are no producers, or managers around the narrows at that time who were scheduled to see Cailan." Batman's voice had an annoyed edge to it now. "One way or another she'd played her part and become disposable to Joker."

"Why is she running _into _the narrows?" Aquaman questioned, watching the footage carefully.

This made everyone—including the overly astute detective—pause and join him at the monitor. As he replayed the footage a second and third time for them, it was obvious when switching from traffic cams to a bank camera and finally a store's surveillance camera that Cailan was heading even deeper into the Narrows than Jennifer had already taken her.

"She didn't stay on the scene long enough for anyone but Jennifer to have a chance to talk with her," Wonder Woman stated. "So she wasn't frightened or otherwise coerced into going down there,"

"Unless Jennifer said someone she knew was in danger," Barry suggested, though by his own voice he'd already rejected the idea.

"We need to figure out why she would go down there," Superman commented.

"Didn't she live there?" Green Arrow questioned Batman.

"Yes. She ran away as a child and lived there until she was old enough to start high school. After that she moved to the fringes," Bruce was pulling up files and documents and reports; there'd been a few run ins with the police and children's services, but nothing had been able to keep Cailan under wraps for longer than a few hours. "She was good at staying invisible, it seems. Until she started drawing a crowd for cheerleading."

"It is likely that as she gained notoriety for her skill her secrets became more and more difficult for her to hide." Martian Man-hunter said, phasing through the floor to join the growing conglomeration. "If I am correct, she officially went missing right around the time her child-cousin and adopted sister turned up at a hospital in the narrows?"

"Yes. A few weeks later our team found her and her then-boyfriend, the body Joker aired live for the world. Jake; he'd gotten into some trouble with Joker's goon-squad and it seems he dragged Cailan into it as well."

"They operate in the Narrows," Wonder Woman stated, her brow furrowing.

"Yes?" Superman asked.

"Well…you don't think that this whole time—"

"Joker doesn't have enough insight to place a mole on our team." Batman stated brusquely. "If Cailan Leal were a spy someone would have been planning this since before our covert ops team was even training to be our sidekicks. Joker doesn't have the brain or the patience for an operative like that."

"Could he have gotten to her when his goons went after the girl and her boyfriend?" Aquaman asked, seeking an alternative rout.

"If she's a spy, she's had a serious change of heart." Barry said a little irritably, ready to defend the girl.

"This isn't answering why she would run into the Narrows." Superman said with a heavy sigh.

"If she were running _to _the Joker, it would." Wonder Woman stated neutrally.

"She was like Robin's family." Batman said coldly. "Like an older sister."

"Maybe that's why she's—"

"She wasn't a spy," Martian Man-hunter said, stepping forward. "Have you all forgotten that I read her mind?"

"Wait, can't you—" Flash started to ask.

"No. Product X affects the brain chemicals and thinking patterns. It alters messages sent around and through the body; it is like crossing telephone wires. It is impossible as long as the drug is in her system."

"And she's had two full doses," Green Arrow said.

"With no food in her system, it'll take hours for it to all burn off on its own." Barry groaned.

"Batman," Man-hunter said, drawing the detective off to the side, though the others were still privy to hear. "Cailan is loyal to a fault. I warned you of this when we first agreed not to wipe her memory. If Joker persists—"

"He isn't killing anyone else." Batman fairly snarled out before turning on his heel vehemently and stalking back to his computer.

"So any guesses why she'd run there?" Barry continued quietly after a prolonged silence.

"Fear," Aquaman suggested. "If it was PTSD as Batman theorizes, it is likely she would have sought safety and comfort. Having lived and cared for herself so long in the Narrows, it is possible she was trying to go back to a place she recalled from her past."

"Joker got to her somewhere in the Narrows," Green Arrow said, looking at a city map. We estimate she went missing around seven or later. So between seven and almost midnight. Joker had five hours to grab her and take her someplace."

"It would have had to been a place he'd already had set up," Flash said. "The equipment needed to broadcast on such a wide scale couldn't be set up in that time or less.

"So that means we're looking in a five hour radius—is there any way to get to a boat from the Narrows?" Wonder Woman demanded, ruling out an aircraft.

"Three shipping ports," Batman said. "And a ferry."

"Hey Aquaman, how far could he get in five hours?" Barry asked, keeping with the boat theme.

"With the currents, not far. Besides, the sea is terrible for broadcasting signals. For him to pull something of this magnitude off he'd have to be decently inland. Even if he did take a boat some place, he couldn't have gotten too far outside of Gotham."

"And if they drove?" Green Arrow questioned next.

"They could have gotten farther, but not by much." Superman said. "There were road blocks set up in the tri state area within twenty minutes of the video airing. Since he was already broadcasting and hasn't stopped, he's not gone farther than that."

"Yet it's still too vast an area to begin narrowing down." Green Arrow protested.

"He hasn't left Gotham." Batman asserted.

"How do you—"

"He called _me_ out. Remember? He's taunting me. It's just like after—" Batman cut himself off and altered his words. "Joker is doing this to get under my skin. He wouldn't leave Gotham."

"You're taking a pretty big risk ruling out surrounding areas on the basis of vendetta." Aquaman said.

"Yeah, I mean, c'mon Bats, this isn't like the kid on the playground throwing dirt at you. He's going to kill her." Flash said.

Batman brought his fists down on the equipment and slowly turned to face the others. He said nothing, simply looked sternly at the heroes. Turning back to the computer he typed some things out and then turned from the group.

"I'm going back to the Batcave. I'll be working things through on my end inside Gotham."

"Bruce," Wonder Woman tried; Superman held her off and they watched Batman enter the zeta tubes and disappear.

"Joker _is _taunting him. Several years ago, Joker murdered his last partner, a boy by the name of Jason Todd. Bruce lost one kid to the Joker; Cailan has had an impact on him whether he admits it or not, just like she's had on our covert team. He can't handle losing someone else to the Joker's insatiable madness." Superman said, glancing at where the caped crusader had stood not long ago.

"Perhaps it is getting to him," Martian said, eyeing the spot as well.

"Let's focus on his issues _after _we find the girl," Barry said, walking back to the computer to type in coordinates. "I'm making like the bat; I can cover tons of ground in no time."

…

Another fireball scorched her free shoulder. _This can't go on. _She was almost ready to drop. It was as if Joker could sense that fact; he stood beneath her, pacing like a Jackal about to feed. The light creaked as she swayed back and forth on it; the chains were brittle with age. Perhaps she'd come crashing down with it. Maybe it would crush her.

"Hehehehahahahahahahahhhhhhhh hahahhhhhhhhhhhhaa!" Joker laughed. "Cailan! You're like a little monkey! I'll admit you're entertaining, but you're really only making this harder than it needs to be!"

Shivers ran round through her body. It was motivation enough. She struggled with her own body but finally wrapped her other hand around the grating. A start. Heaving a deep breath she begged and willed herself to do this one last thing. Was there strength left to pull herself up? Her foot found a grip on the grating—that helped. She had leg power now, better than just her arm strength alone. Her shoed foot got stuck and she had to lose it to keep moving.

"Tch. Really, you don't quite huh?" Joker pouted below. "Jack?"

Cailan gulped and peered over her shoulder, holding back the scream in her throat. It didn't matter what she wanted right now, she was about to get fried. And if she was back in the Joker's hands…she couldn't even guarantee to herself that she'd keep quiet. Running on fumes of strength she scrambled up the light to where the chains were connected to a slat of metal attaching to the grating over the electrical box. Jack let fly with more flames and the box crashed down; Cailan wrapped her good leg around the metal slat, cutting her thigh deeply through her torn jeans.

"Jack I'm getting tired of this. Get her down here now." Joker growled, the fun all out of his voice.

_It's like climbing onto a swing, a very high swing,_ Cailan talked herself, trying to block out Joker's screeching. She was straddling the metal slat carefully, her hands gripping the chains. The initial thought had been to shimmy up them, but she realized now how folly that attempt would be. She hardly had the strength to stay conscious. She could maybe swing and jump to a ledge or a beam if she could find one close enough.

She screamed and toppled backwards; Jack had nearly scorched off her face. She could smell her singed hair as she dangled perilously off her perch. Blood was running freely down her leg and her hand was slippery from her previous cut as she gripped the chain. The swing was tilting, her leg was slipping—

…

"—back off!" Robin roared, shoving his chair back and standing. "I can't do this with you guys constantly at my neck okay?! Give me a little space I swear I'm working as fast as I can!"

"But it's not—"

Artemis put a hand on Kf's shoulder. "Look, he's narrowed it down to somewhere around Gotham City's limits." She said.

Wally groaned and pulled away from her. "Gotham City is—"

"Big. I know, that's why we're going to split up. You, Megan and Conner go down on foot and look around, ask questions, read minds, whatever. Kidflash, you've got speed on your side: think of any place that could possibly send out the kind of signal we're looking for and do a sweep. A _SWEEP. _Nothing else. Conner and Megan will check the outskirts of town. Megan, keep everyone in touch telepathically as long as you can. After that we'll go to the coms.

"Kaldur, Rob and I will stay here. I've logged plenty of time flying the bioship so we'll be able to fly to whichever of you finds something. Coms online?"

They nodded to her.

"Alright, go."

"You make a good leader," Kaldur said, slumping into a seat after the other three had left.

"It should be you," she returned as she took her own seat behind the piloting controls.

He shook his head slowly but said nothing. _He drew forth a bracelet, the likes of which she'd never seen. Its thread was a silver-green metal, braided and beads intertwined within the strands. In the middle was a mother-of-pearl shell. She looked at it and gasped. Her mouth hung open, speechless._ Where had that memory come from, and why was it not comforting to him now?

"We have been at this for hours," he commented, looking out towards where the pitch blackness of night was starting to grey around the edges.

"…" Artemis looked over at him from behind Rob's shoulder.

"Megan asked how long she could last—"

"You can't think like that Kaldur," Artemis shook her head and squeezed the boy wonder's shoulder.

"We will be out of time soon Artemis, I cannot help but think like this,"

"Trying to concentrate here," Robin muttered, hunching over the keys.

The two were silenced by a bleeping sound coming from the computer. Kaldur's heart picked up.

"Definitely coming from Gotham." Dick muttered sarcastically. "As if we didn't know."

"That beeping sound—"

"The computer's picking up a strong signal but I haven't been able to hone in where yet. The faster the beeping the closer we get to a strong enough signal that it might be her."

"It is getting faster," Kaldur noted, still hopeful, his heart still rapid.

"Because I'm narrowing down the quadrants she could be in. It's basically come down to the south quadrant: The Narrows and Gotham South." Dick said.

"What does that mean?" Kaldur started, looking from Artemis to Dick and back again.

"Don't get excited," Artemis cautioned him quickly. "That's still a huge area of land and buildings to cover."

The beeping grew faster. "Seven possible,"

"Too many," the blond shook her head. "No time to investigate them all. You've got to narrow it down,"

"I'm trying!"

…

"KF to bioship; what's going on up there? We need a location I'm flying blind here!"

"_Working on it KF" _Artemis growled into her com.

He heard her talking to Kaldur about Gotham layout and couldn't help thinking how this was a terrible time to be talking realestate

"KF, position?" Conner asked over the coms.

"Uptown, running low on fuel," Wally muttered, his stomach twisting. He burned through way too much tonight.

"Ms. M?"

"Flying over Gotham Harbor. Nothing in sight. What about you Superboy?"

"Staying low on Wayne Tower; I can't see anything from this vantage either, except that damned footage…"

"Don't watch it. Ignore it. Focus on looking for anything unusual—lights where there shouldn't be, buildings with tons of cables, that kind of thing," Wally hurriedly blurted out. He didn't want to know what was happening to her now.

"_Artemis, get Wally on the com, NOW!"_

…

"Really Cailan how long do you think you can last?" Joker questioned, brushing a fleck of blood off his face.

He motioned and Jack sent another shoot of flame towards her, singeing her back and blood matted hair. The swing tipped and her leg grated off the edge. Cailan screamed as she slid off. She was literally hanging by her fingertips now. _My arm…I can't…my…arm—damn! _

She wasn't sure how deep the grooves of fingertips ran, but when her hand slipped off the edge she was pretty sure she lost all the prints of her right hand. It was just raw underskin now. She grimaced, tried not to look and made a grab for the metal, but it was no good. Her right hand couldn't make a grab and her left hand couldn't hold her. She was going to fall.

"Let's take bets on how long you hold out! I'm thinking, another few seconds. Two minutes, tops." Joker laughed as she hung there; he was like a child at Christmas.

_Sorry..._

Joker stepped back, making room for her landing.

Most descriptions make it sound like a twig breaking. But when a twig is snapped it's a clean even break—quick, sharp. When she landed on her leg it was more like the ice over a pond breaking. It crackled, shattering as her weight came down to meet the immovable concrete below her. There also wasn't pain, at first. It was a numbed sensation, like her leg had gone to sleep.

Her body rolled over itself and she couldn't remember what had happened before she was lying in a crumpled heap with a closing circle of bodies around her.

…

"Got it!" Wally yelled and literally turned at the drop of a dime, altering his direction and heading north along a back road.

The world rushed by him but he knew his destination pretty well; Dick was a good instructor and Megan was sending images via her online-telepathy. He was just hoping the others were on their way and fast as he burst through the doors and zoomed down the stairs. By the time the door to the lower parking garage had slammed into the wall he was already breaking through the ring of goons. By the time Joker realized that he'd been found KidFlash had scooped Cailan up and was rushing off into the darkness, heading for one of the upper levels above ground.

He was worried; he was running too low on energy and if he passed out they were both as good as dead. If the others didn't get here to back him up soon Joker could kill them both and be gone and it'd be game over. She was limp in his arms—probably going into shock. Not good. How many levels now? It was still so dark, so they weren't close to the surface yet.

Wally stopped and darted into a corner and slowly lowered her to the ground. This would have to do. He had to save his strength. "_Ms. M, change of plans I can't make it up you guys will have to come to me." _

"Cailan," he shook her shoulder, clenching his jaw.

She opened her eyes and grimaced as she moved to look up at him. "Sorry," she muttered, leaning heavily against him.

"_Guys we gotta get her out of here. Priority should be rescue, not capture." _ He relayed back.

"_Negative. We don't take him out now he'll come back after her again, especially now that we've come to the rescue twice." _ Dick's voice sounded back.

"Cailan, wake up, ya gotta stay with me alright?" Wally said, shaking her shoulder.

"…down stairs…." He couldn't make out what she'd said.

"What, hey stay with me the others are on the way alright, Kal—Aqualad is on the way just stay with me."

"Downstairs," she took a deep breath and tried again. "if you can get up towards the rafters…there's a place to wait…if you can get up there's a niche…Jack can't reach there…"

"We can't go back there, they'll be coming for us—we'll be blocked with Joker's goons."

"And you can't get higher," she retorted, making him frown.

"Why does this sound the way I think it sounds." He commented, his green eyes darting around the parking level. "_Guys where the heck are you!? We need you yesterday!"_

"_We're coming just hold on! We're not all as fast as you KF." _Artemis quipped at him; he knew that the bio-ship was probably being forced to its capabilities to get here but they'd stopped in the business district; even flying dead on would take about fifteen minutes top speed.

"Please don't let him," Cailan said, sounding more scared than he'd ever heard before.

Wally cringed; he could hear laughter and yells marking that they were the level below, getting close. "We gotta move."

"I can't." she gasped out at his slightest movement. "I can't move—m-my leg,"

He let out a hiss of air. He couldn't believe he was asking this. "C'mon I know…I know what he did but I know that you're strong enough. We just need to move a little ways, just a little ways."

"It's broken." She said through clenched teeth shaking her head. "T-The hyena...can smell us out. I-I'm bleeding so much tha—"

"We just need to get somewhere that they can't get to us until help gets here," he said, trying to coax her up; he could carry her but they were in dire straits here—if he wasn't careful he'd be useless when it counted.

"_Rob," _Wally swallowed hard and lifted Cailan as gingerly into his arms as he could. "_Rob you gotta call in the Bat." _

…

"That isn't the plan," Kaldur growled aloud in the ship.

"KF is right Aqualad. We've got to call in the league. We're in it already. We need them." Robin said, taking a deep breath.

"_Ms. M, Superboy, what're your positions?"_

"_ETA two minutes," _ Megan said, skirting carelessly around a building in camo mode.

"_ETA seven minutes."_ Superboy growled, leaping over building after building and crashing into the streets for just a second—long enough to startle a few homeless and degenerates before he vanished over the next tower.

"_ETA ten minutes."_ Artemis said, gunning the ship along and glancing from Aqualad to Robin and back towards her goal.

"What's eating you Rob," She demanded. "I can hear you're gears turning."

"…the place." He said, his restraint and secrets battling around inside him. "it just…seems familiar—I read a crime that happened there, I'm sure."

"Lots of thing have happened, it's a hotspot in the Narrows," Artemis said, brushing him aside.

"But I could have sworn there was something high profile that happened at this exact place," Robin pushed, knowing he was treading on dangerous grounds and still needing someone else to know why this 'circumstance' was bothering him.

"…High profile? Well…it's the site of the Wayne murders, but that was maybe…thirty some years ago," Artemis said, not really caring.

"That must be it." Robin thought; what were the odds that the Joker would take Cailan—Bruce Wayne's protégé—to the very spot where Bruce Wayne's life changed course and made him Batman?

"Why does this bother you?" Kaldur said, catching on to something lingering in Robin's voice.

"I…I don't know. I guess it just won't get out of my head."

"Look the old opera house has been a breeding ground for crime in the Narrows since the economy tanked around the time of the murders. The Waynes' were killed by a mugger who probably fell to crime because nearly half of the denizens of Gotham were either laid off or put on wage freezes around the time. The opera house soon went under—surviving off of patrons to keep open and those patrons got spooked after someone like Mr. Wayne could fall victim to the broken of Gotham.

"Ever since then gangs, madams, pimps, and drug makers/dealers have been in control of the old place. It's part of the reason that the Narrows _is _the Narrows. We probably should have thought to look here first, actually." The blond said, angry with herself. It seemed so obvious.

"Of course if feels obvious." Kaldur said. "Because we can see logic behind the decision. But Joker does not operate on logic and that is why we did not see this place as probable."

"I need to call Batman." Robin said, shaking his head in sudden remembrance.

The boy took a deep breath and then typed into his keypad and commanded to be logged onto the batcave system. After a moment he was transferred and Batman's masked face came up on his holoscreen.

"Uh…B-Batman," he said, trying to speak over the knots in his stomach.

"What is it Robin?" he sounded more angry than usual, as if he already knew.

"…w-we…we found Cailan and the Joker."

…

"_WALLY!" _Ms. M soared threw the parking garage, level by level.

"_third or fourth from the bottom, beautiful," _he thought to her, trying to keep up appearances that everything was fine.

"_Conner will be on his way soon! The others are right behind us," _she thought back, gliding along at the first level below ground.

"_How many feet of concrete can you break through at a time?" _Wally directed to Superboy, disregarding how unsafe it could potentially be if someone were to crash a hole through all levels of a structure.

"_Dunno. We'll find out in a minute though," _the other boy thought back, gritting his teeth and preparing his fists.

Megan figured that they were either a level or two under her entrance. "_keep talking to me so I can find you," _

"_Tch, as if I've ever had an issue talking." _Wally joked, trying to keep a level head. He'd never had anyone die on him—well, not counting Kent Nelson, who he didn't count because a he wasn't young and b he'd died of old, old, old age. "_But seriously, those guys are getting closer. I thought Joker was supposed to be crazy and erratic, not cautious and investigative," _

"_He isn't._" Robin said, his head jerking away from the screen where he was talking with Batman. _"He doesn't work that way—it isn't _possible_ for him to work that way. Someone's pulling the strings or that isn't Joker."_

"_Believe me. It's Joker."_ Wally groaned as he heard Joker's trademark laugh and he shrunk further into the back of an old and ditched, half-stripped car, cradling Cailan who he'd nearly given up on keeping conscious. "_Megan we could really use some crazy cloaking here,"_

"_Almost there Wally I promise!"_ she said, noting that the thoughts were getting louder between the two of them. "_Keep thinking, anything you're getting louder."_

"_I'm thinking if we don't do something fast she's going to die." _Wally's thought surprised even him and there was silence from his team. "_Guys, seriously she's not going to make it. She's bleeding and going into shock and I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do! I'll be useless to you guys soon. I'm burned on energy." _

"_Stay whelmed," _Robin's voice sounded far away—distracted. "_Help's on its way, I swear." _

"_Wally!" _Megan threw her arms around him; the voices were echoing madly off the concrete walls.

"They're here," he whispered.

Megan glanced around and then edged the three of them into the car and wrapped her arms around Cailan, held Wally's hand and concentrated on going into camo mode. It wasn't invisible, but it was over-lookable.

"_I hope this works," _she thought.

"_It has to."_

"_I'm on my way there," _ Conner said, calmly for him. They could hear deep thuds above them and dust was falling.

"…hmm…" Joker was close and Cailan shivered and shrank into her friends. "we have visitors. Heheheheh, this just gets better and better!"

…

"Command Tower," Batman's face appeared on the screen—he was already making his way to the location Robin had disclosed. "Joker's been found. The location will be up momentarily. Our covert team is already on the scene. They said subject is heavily aided and armed. We'll need backup."

"They went after him!?" Barry exploded, jumping up from his hair; he was yelling at an empty screen by now.

"They disobeyed orders, again." Superman shook his head.

"And I'm sure Bruce will cover it when this all blows over." Wonder Woman stated calmly. "Right now we need to save that girl without letting this turn into more of a situation."

"What do you mean?" Aquaman asked.

"Joker has potentially more hostages, more victims and, if we're exceptionally unlucky," Martian Man-hunter broke in. "the chance to unmask our sidekicks."

"Partners." Roy said, his arms crossed as he walked in behind Green Arrow. "Heard you could use some help."

…

"_How long till you're—"_

Arrows launched through the darkness and captured a goon in a net and pinned one to a wall. Bat-shaped boomerang like objects whizzed through the air and exploded in a flash bomb, disorienting a few of the assailants.

"KidFlash stay here with Cailan and rest," Megan said, getting out of the car to go help the others.

Wally started to protest when he saw hyena take out Conner and Kaldur go head to head with Jack. If one of those guys got away, for even a second… Wally glanced around; Joker was looking on with crazed fascination not far from where he supported Cailan in the car. He wasn't stupid enough to take on the Joker—somehow the mental patient always seemed to evade the dark knight, even if the bat caught him and locked him in Arkham. But keeping an eye on the fiend wouldn't be a bad idea.

…

Kaldur couldn't believe that they had found her, that Cailan was just a few feet away from him, almost safe. He didn't care about the reprimand he was going to receive from Batman or his King—even if it lost him membership to the Team, the potential for the League, and his apprenticeship with Aquaman. The team had done good tonight, regardless of the consequences.

"_Artemis, take out—"_

"_Already on it Aqualad." _the blond said, her arrows-rapid-firing at the goons lined up around Joker.

"_Ms. M," _

"_The car's under protection, bioship is en route, I'll try and contain the Joker,"_

"_No!" _Robin interjected quickly, leaping in front of his teammate, eyes determined. _"he is our lowest priority." _

"_Aqualad, I'll take Jack," _Conner thought, grabbing the hyena's jaws and slinging it into the wall. He made the mistake of leaping towards Jack, trying to wrestle the pumpkin meta away from Kaldur (who's weakness left him struggling). Jack was perfectly fine turning the fire power onto Superboy. The damage wasn't extensive, but it was obvious that the pumpkin headed freak was no one to take lightly.

Kid Flash watched from the car seat, cradling Cailan in his lap protectively. Jack was about as insane as his master. Megan screamed when the flames touched her skin—that sent Superboy into a frenzy, though his anger got him little more than an increased number of burns.

"KF Go!" Robin shouted, appearing at the car and tossing the boy a powerbar.

"_where the heck do you keep all this stuff?!" _ Wally thought as he scarffed the snack, skirting out from the car and then rushing into the fray.

Robin glanced around and then dodged into the backseat. Her pulse was faint but there, he ducked down over her as a goon ran by. The one thing Batman always reminded him was that he was not ever to go after the Joker. Which probably meant that he was to keep Cailan as far from the lunatic as possible. Dick hadn't known Jason Todd, but he was sure that Batman wouldn't be able to take a repeat of whatever had happened to Todd.

Kid Flash ran at Jack top speed and circled. _"Ms. M! Pull the winds upwards, like a reverse tornado!" _

Without question the martian did as she was asked. "Fire cannot live without oxygen," Kaldur mused, breathing heavily.

The last move left Megan weakened as well however, and she sank to her feet, leaning heavily on Artemis who'd long since run out of arrows. "Where do the bad guys get all their flippin recruits?!" the blond growled, using her bow to deflect a few attacks.

With Jack on his knees Conner and Kaldur managed to deal solid punches and knock him to the ground. However, with Megan unable to maintain the vacuum he was like a dying campfire—if the embers were stirred the fire would rise. Kaldur tried pulling the water from around the depths of the parking garage, but every time he used his attacks it simply turned to steam against the flames issued from Jack.

"Well now, I had half a mind to leave when the Bat showed up but this is much better," Joker crowed, his eyes narrowed slits as he watched from a makeshift thrown of junk. "Besides, it'll be wonderful to be able to gloat to the others about how _I _defeated the Leagues little brats."

"That's not happening Joker," Robin snarled as he landed a perfect defensive kick to one of the lackeys just in front of Joker."

"Hehehehehehahahahahaha—I never imagined you'd be so excited to meet the fate of your predecessor but if you're ready to die then by all means boy, step this way,"

Dick smirked and with his trademark laugh dashed back into the shadows.

"Not this time Joker."

If Joker hadn't had his face covered with pancake-thick white makeup his skin's sudden pallor would have made him laugh. Just what he always loved—a show-down with the Dark Knight.

Before Joker could blink the tides had changed. The young heroes weren't the only ones he was contending with anymore.

…

"Flash!?" Wally stopped flat and stared at his mentor.

"Nice job Kid, now step back and let us take this jerk on. You just worry about getting her to the hospital—and don't let her out of your sight for a moment."

"He's just like a cockroach," Wonder Woman muttered tossing two of the unconscious helpers aside like trash. "Nothing keeps him gone for long,"

"Tsk tsk tsk Bats, and here I thought we had something special," Joker cackled.

"Aqualad," Batman said. "Take the girl, get your team, and leave. Now."

The kids knew from the detective's voice how angry and pissed off he was.

"I am sorry Batman," Aqualad braced himself. "But that is an order I cannot follow."

"It won't take more than one of us to get her out," Artemis stated, glancing from the adults to her team.

"And how about protecting her?" Flash demanded, taking out a lurker in the shadows.

"This isn't your fight, stand. Down." Wonder Woman—the usual supporter of the young team—cut in, her voice severe.

"He made it our fight when he called us out," Megan argued as she panted from Artemis' shoulder.

"Guys, not really the time to argue!" Robin cut in, shooting back a glance to Cailan. "The…girl won't hold out much longer."

They were trying to take the heat off of Cailan by speaking in a detached manner, as if they didn't know her well, if at all. Joker continued to cackle.

"I thought you'd have fled back to your hole Joker," Batman said, his eyes narrowing. "Weren't you supposed to be gone before we showed?"

"Do you really think all of this is where I'd leave off? That I was foolish enough not to have a back up?" he grinned psychotically. "Oh, no no no no bats, no. Ya know, I'm always surprised how you take things at face value. So serious, too serious, if you ask me," He said as he turned and spoke to a hired gun at his arm amicably.

"You don't really think," he paused and suddenly his attitude had changed; he was cold and there was an underlying melody of malice. "I would go to all this trouble, just for some girl off the street, do you?"

Gas started issuing from the darkness; Batman and Robin pulled respective gasmasks but their allies started to giggle and chuckle all around them. Batman looked un-fazed. A little laughing gas was something they could handle. He didn't need another provocation to laugh, but the Joker seemed to have had a large dose of his own medicine.

The two mingling teams seemed to be working fine, despite the gas that was starting to seriously disrupt the breathing space. But heads began to spin; pupils started to dilate. Bodies started to burn and sweat—the heroes were weaving around, trying with little ease to focus on their targets.

"Don't worry, the air-born version of Product X won't be what kills you," Joker laughed as he darted around and out of the parking level.

…

"Batman," Wonder Woman mumbled; Flash was off coughing against a wall. Most of the young heroes had collapsed.

"Flash, if the gas hasn't fully disrupted your brain clear the parking level." Batman barked.

"not…all of us…have magic utility belts," Flash coughed.

"Superboy," Batman said once the room was cleared.

"On it."Conner shook his head to clear the lingering effects of the gas and used his vision to scan the building for where Joker and his minions had gotten off to. Blinking a few times he looked to the lower underground recesses of the parking garage. There were a few bulky figures—none matching the specs of Joker. He shook his head at Batman and looked above.

"He's trying to escape at ground level. Stragglers both above and below." Conner husked, coughing out the last tastes of the gas.

"What's your call?" Wonder Woman questioned, glancing around at the fallen kids.

Batman looked around too, the glanced to Robin. "Superboy, Flash—lower levels are yours. Collect the stragglers, then report back here. Wonder Woman, with me. We find Joker."

"Batman," Robin butted in, taking a hasty step towards his mentor. "...what about me?"

"Stay with your comrades. Get them on awake and on their feet. Under no circumstances," the detective's voice turned almost to a growl. "are you to go after the Joker or his thugs. Defend yourself and your friends. No unnecessary risks."

"But—"

"It's an order. Listen to it." He commanded and then whisked away into the shadows.

…

Dick checked his teammates; all were as they should be, for the most part. From what he could get off of their pulses, they were simply asleep from the gas (though, he wasn't honestly sure of Megan since he'd never learned how a Martian's pulse was supposed to go).

"C'mon Wal-man," Dick muttered softly. "Wake up."

Dick patted the speedster's cheeks and gave him a rough little shake. The boy was pale and clammy but his eyes began to flicker. Wally's eyes opened fully, but they were unfocused at first, dilated and glazed.

"Hey man," Dick gave him another little shake.

Wally groaned and stirred, his eyes continuing to flicker. His pulse jumped as he gained more and more awareness.

"Stay calm and stay whelmed KF, we gotta get the other's up and moving," Dick said, hastily. He didn't mention that Cailan's heart rate was high.

Wally groaned again but started sitting up and moving around. Dick rushed on to Kaldur—his Atlantian skin should mean he was more resilient to the gas. Dick's guess was right. Kaldur woke faster and was more lucid, moving with Dick to Megan to wake the alien from her fatigue-and-gas-induced slumber. She didn't rouse easily and by the time he'd gotten her to her feet Wally had Artemis standing.

"Batman said stay." Robin stated as he went to Cailan's side.

Kaldur was close on his heels and the team leader noticed right away that something wasn't right with Cailan's state.

"Kaldur!" Robin protested as the Atlantian lifted the limp girl effortlessly into his arms. "Batman said—"

"I do not care what Batman told you! We are not children anymore Robin. We gave up that right when we put on our mentors mantles. Right now Cailan needs us."

"We go up we go down we run into Joker or his goons." Robin held firm. "I'm the only one who wasn't affected by the gas and you've got your hands full carrying her."

Kaldur took a deep breath and looked hard at his team.

"She is _dying_ Robin. Stop lying to yourself and help me save her."

"What?!" Wally stopped dead in his tracks and nearly let Artemis—who was leaning heavily on him at the time—collapse back onto the floor.

"…she's gone into shock…the gas has her stabilized, go figure, but it won't last for long." Robin admitted unsteadily.

"I'm with Kaldur. We get her out yesterday. Dude, what is wrong with you?!" Kid Flash narrowed his eyes at Robin.

"…" Robin looked at them carefully. "There isn't a safe way out."

"You can't just let her die!" Megan was close to tears.

His eyes searched his friend's faces. "…Kaldur I'll lead. The rest of you bring up the back. Megan call the bioship."

He shot one of his 'toys' up to the hole Conner had made in the cement structure and started to climb. The Atlantain went next and held Cailan tightly to him with one hand and grabbed the cable with the other.

…

_Saturday 14__th__ of July_

_2:04am_

_Gotham General_

"We need help here!" Kid Flash yelled through the emergency room ruckus.

Kaldur was making his way towards the first available gurney. Doctors came flocking and chaos ensued around the young heroes. All Aqualad could hear was his pulse in his head.

…

"_Pressure rising!" _

"_Out of the way,"_

"_Get the scissors,"_

"_Where's that oxygen?"_

"_No, you can't come in here! Doctors only!"_

_Kaldur allowed himself to be pulled back and stared through the window, watching his girl pushed away on a gurney towards an operating room that he might not see her out of._

…

"It's simple, sir," the man in the white coat said, looking more than a little nervous. "She's slipped into a comatose state."

"What does that even mean?!" Kidflash demanded, his anger bubbling over—mostly from worry over Cailan, and slightly over the fact that he'd only had a little of the cafeteria junk to sustain his meta-metabolism.

The man in the coat looked around and then sighed.

"Medically, it means that she's still alive and breathing, but it also means that, for now, she remains unresponsive. She may wake up and she may not—it's wait and see for now."

…

"Her condition isn't going to change just because you glue yourself outside her door." Robin said to Kaldur.

"Like you trust the uni's to guard her?" Artemis sneered over her crossed arms.

They silenced their voices and used their minds. "_She'll be taken to a private hospital once she's stabilized completely. Under a fake name with a made up story."_ Robin informed them.

"_how's the league gonna pull that off?" _ Superboy demanded.

"_We've got some heavy rollers backing us," _Rob shrugged.

"_How can you be so calm?"_ Kaldur's voice was cold. _"She's slipped into a _coma._"_

They all looked away from him, Megan breaking the connection as she pulled furthest from the group. Kaldur's words reminded them it wasn't a victory at all, not really. Joker hadn't even been caught this time, simply escaped into the wind once again. Kaldur was furious, unable even to speak to his mentor and king.

"Aqualad—"

"No Robin. I will not listen to more." Kaldur silenced him with subzero tones and deadly eyes. "I will take the first watch over her, until it is time to move."

…

_Tuesday, 24__th__ of July_

There was a fog all around her. A dense fog. She was cold and groggy. And somewhere under the confusion and disorientation was a dull and throbbing pain. First she felt it in her head—like a tiny person was pounding away at the inside of her brain. Then she felt something worse. Something terrifying.

There was a chirruping—no, no it was a beeping sound, increasing in rapidity. Her heart was vibrating around inside her chest, a frightened bird. The pain—

"Hey, take it easy," a pressure on her shoulder said.

"Yeah, you're safe now,"

At least the voices sounded familiar.

_No, my legs._ Is what Cailan thought she said. What her friends heard was in articulate sounds as she shook her head at them.

"…legs…" they finally made out.

"Cailan—" Dick started to say.

Too late. She tore off the sheet and looked over the white casts with near-unseeing eyes. "What…"

She ended up coughing before she could finish her sentence. "…my legs?"

"…you get beaten to a bloody mess and all you're worried about is your legs?" Conner demanded flatly, quirking a curious brow at her.

"Conner!" Artemis scolded.

Cailan heard her voice mumble inconsistently, though she couldn't remember trying to speak, and attempted to focus her eyes.

"Stop," a soothing voice lovingly chided her, brushing warm fingers over her cheek. "Just go back to sleep,"

…

_August 3__rd__, Friday_

"I'm not going back to sleep this time Kaldur," Calie muttered tersely as she sat up and gave her head a shake.

"It's good to see you up," Dick said, putting a hand over hers on the bed.

"Why…is my head so light?" she asked, trying to make the sentence sound less ridiculous.

Her question earned her some chuckles and Wally's quip about how she was still fuzzy from doing drugs. After the chuckling died down their faces drew serious and she felt a sudden weight in the room.

"They…" Kaldur startled her clearing his throat.

"…Kal? What, what's so hard to talk about?"

"They had to cut your hair," Conner stated, his voice still holding the flat intonations it had since she'd met him.

Calie saw the looks they all shot him from the corner of her eye as her hand fumbled towards her head. Her hand was heavily bandaged and her limbs felt heavy. The tips of her fingers brushed through greasy, matted hair over her still-tender head; the edges felt frayed, and it was obviously far shorter than the last she could remember.

She forced a small grin and tried to joke. "So my hair looks like chopped salad,"

The room seemed to get more intense. "Geez…guys…its—what's wrong?"

"…Cailan," Kaldur took a deep breath and gave her uninjured hand a squeeze. "It is the _reason_ they needed to cut your hair. I—"

He stopped himself before he said something cheesy about how he didn't care about the length of her hair, he loved it anyway, stopped himself before he said something about not being able to get the image of her blood-matted hair out of his mind.

"…and…wh-why did they have to cut my hair"? she whispered hoarsely.

"You don't want to think about it." Dick interrupted before Kaldur started talking. "We shouldn't have brought it up."

"You didn't. I did." She argued, shaking her head.

"I'm glad that you're feeling better Cailan," Megan said, smiling and leaning over to give Cailan a hug.

"Any chance you guys have a special trick for actually being better?" the girl asked as she glanced around them, going with the new change of subject.

"It's called medicine and sleep." Artemis said, smirking as grabbing her coat. "Visiting hours are almost over,"

…

"Cailan," Kaldur said, his voice husky, after the others had left. "I am so sorry—"

"Kaldur don't. Don't do this."

"Cailan, you don't understand, I must—"

"I don't want to hear it Kaldur." Her voice hardened, but he heard the tired quiver of her words. "I'm tired…I need to sleep."

"…" Kaldur held tighter onto her free hand and drew his lips together in a frustrated line.

"Please," she closed her eyes and took a shaky deep breath. "I can't talk about this right now."

"And I _need _to talk about this right now." He returned sternly.

At her minutes of silence, he took it as the go-ahead to continue speaking.

"This was my fault…in part. And also the League's. We had the opportunity at the very beginning to make sure this never happened to you, that you were never in danger like this. However, I…I was not able to—to make that decision and instead was led by my emotions. The truth is that you were kidnapped by Joker, frightened, hurt, and…almost injured beyond repair and I, I could have—have stopped it all from happening months ago.

"I was just too selfish to let them save you back then; I thought we'd be able to protect you."

He looked up with pained eyes and watched her swallow hard and her jaw jump a few times. His whole body was tensed, waiting for her to become upset and start yelling, or crying. He felt that anything would have been better than the silence he was enduring. Her hand was ice in his and he felt it so slack, as if she didn't want to hold his and yet didn't have the strength to make him let go. He felt like his stomach was on a trapeze at the circus while his heart was like a locomotive engine. The ticking of the clock seemed to be the only sound he could hear and it was the loudest thing he could ever remember hearing, echoing in his head and reverberating throughout his bones as he waited for her stillness to abate.

"…how could you have stopped it months ago?" she finally whispered.

Kaldur felt like the wind was knocked out of him. It had not been the question he'd been expecting and for the first few moments after she'd spoken he didn't make a sound, unable to respond. He finally swallowed his heart back down to its proper place in his chest and attempted real speech again.

"When…we first ran into Baal and his group…when Jake was first kidnapped and we found you in the alley that first night…and you saw who Kidflash really was… When we took you back to base and you met the League, one of our members—Megan's uncle—has the ability to read minds as she does. However, he can also erase memories and clear minds as well. When you first fell into our hands, we could have erased your memory, taken out all that you'd seen and made it as if you'd never even known us."

"…and…why didn't you do that and save yourselves all this trouble?"

Her voice was so quiet and so strained that he couldn't tell if she was falling back asleep or just so upset with him that she couldn't talk.

"He…would have had to clear much from your mind. Deep down, you'd had suspicions—in your heart you'd _felt _something different, something special about us. Perhaps it was wishful thinking, the fantasies of a high school girl wanting to get away from a bad situation. Whatever it was, the knowledge of who we really were and what we really did made a connection in you and it ran deep inside your mind. To remove it there is much else he also would have had to remove.

"We would have been wiping out entire chunks of who you were. It is dangerous, clearing memories; he could have wiped us out of your mind but, in doing so, we were worried we would take away some of the very essence of who you are. The league has never had to do this with an ally and was not prepared at the time to make that decision under the circumstances. Instead what it fell to was how much we could trust you, if you were a threat, and if we could keep you and what you knew a secret."

"Kaldur, I need you to shut up right now."

Dumbfounded Kaldur sat at her bedside with his mouth opening and closing like a stranded fish. He blinked at her and almost dropped her hand, unsure of if she wanted him to leave or if she was still a little out of things from her pain medication. Her breathing was even and her pulse felt only slightly elevated. She didn't seem furious, or upset, but then he was unsure of what her true state of mind was in all of this—the doctors said that she might very well remain in a state of mental shock and disbelief for quite some time after she'd woken up. Was this what they'd been talking about?

"Cailan—"

"No. Kaldur just stop talking."

He flinched inwardly and swallowed hard. Resigning himself to the worst he'd been preparing himself for before he confessed he sighed and stood, letting go of her hand.

"I will leave you to rest then,"

In a movement that surprised him she caught his hand back up, her eyes open once more.

"I didn't say leave I said shut up." She said; he was able to discern now that she was in fact upset with him.

"I do not understand…"

"I told you I didn't want to hear it. You shouldn't have said anything," her heart rate went up. "What do you expect Kaldur? Of _course_ right now you me and half the world are thinking that if you could have prevented this hell you should have."

Kaldur flinched and set his eyes downcast away from her poisonous green ones.

"But you and I both know that that isn't fair. If you had asked me my opinion back then I would have made the same stupid choice. You shouldn't have said a damn thing. That's not fair to either of us. You blame yourself and then you get me all…all…"

"flustered?"

"—over a decision we can't go back and change that was made out of the best intentions at the time. Of course I'm angry. I'm lying in a hospital bed, missing weeks of my memory from being doped up in the hospital and I can't remember almost anything in the last few days leading up to being in the hospital. My body is in constant pain, my friends look at me with these mixed glances of 'how pathetic' and 'how tragic' and 'that poor thing', when we all know that a part of all this mess is my own damn fault.

"Of course I'm angry over what that…that…freak did to me—"

"I am so sorry Cailan, I never meant for you to get hurt—never imagined that—"

"But I'm glad I had the chance to protect you." She interrupted him, squeezing his hand and closing her eyes again, her strength nearly gone. "I love you Kaldur. I'm angry with you, with me, with what happened right now, but I love you."

Kaldur remained standing there in a stunned silence only able to stare at her until she'd long since fallen back into a deep drug—happy sleep. There was utter turmoil inside of him—she was angry with him (which he fully understood), but she just said she still loved him, but she was also drugged and in pain and possibly not really within her right mind under the circumstances. And he'd gotten her hurt, and she said she loved him. But she was angry that he'd brought it up, that he'd had to mention it; she was angry that it happened. She was scared. He could see it in her eyes, he'd seen it every time she glanced towards her legs—life as she'd known it could be over, and she was terrified.

With a shaky breath and feeling like he was going to burst with emotions if he didn't dive deep into the ocean soon, he leaned over and kissed her forehead and then each eye lid and turned off the light, leaving her under the scrutiny and lock and key protection of the reclusive private hospital off the records and out of knowledge of all but the elite and turned seaward.

…

_August 16__th__, Thursday_

"She'll be lucky if she can walk again without aid. I just don't see dancing—especially ballet—in her future. There was simply too much damage done,"

"How is that even possible?" Dick protested, trying to keep his irritation hidden in a low voice.

"When she was initially taken to the emergency room at Gotham general the doctors just went in to save her life. Once she was stabilized and results came back…the drugs that that madman put into her, when combined they acted like morphine, in a sense. Her body and brain recognized the pain together; however where the pain should have been an indicator of severe damage the drugs somehow manipulated her body's ability to keep going. Instead of collapsing and breaking down her body kept going, furthering the damage she sustained." There was shuffling as the doctor flipped again through some papers in a large folder.

"…yeah…thanks…" Dick mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

"I won't lie to you, it is going to be a lot of work—hard work—and difficult physical therapy to get you to a walking state again." Dick heard from Cailan's room.

"Yeah, of course…of course. When can I start—what will I have to do—how long—?"

"Miss," the doctor held up his hand to her and looked back to the charts in his lap. "Let's…not get ahead of ourselves."

"Get…ahead—what do you mean?" she asked—demanded; Dick could hear a slight panic to her voice.

"There are things you need to know about your…condition, before you set yourself up." The doctor said, patting her hand.

Cailan withdrew her hand callously. "Setting myself up for what, exactly?"

"Cailan maybe you should rest, we'll talk about this later…with Bruce," Dick said, interrupting the doctors untimely reply.

…

"No guys…it doesn't look good." Dick shook his head.

"You talked with the doctors?" Wally asked, perking up in his seat.

The raven headed teen nodded, then shook his head. "Sort of…I talked with one of them and over heard another. Anyways…" he let out a whoosh of breath. "it doesn't look good to any of them. They think the end result will mostly be that she can walk—without aid."

"You mean—"

"Yeah," he nodded at Megan. "putting it lightly, her dancing career is over."

"Damn." Was all Artemis could muster.

"You…mean not ever, not at all?" Conner's usually deadpan demeanor was swept away with confusion and surprise.

"She'll probably be lucky to walk again Conner." Dick looked away.

"Shh," Conner growled, shooting them a look and then turning towards the tv and flipping on static.

The group gave him a puzzled look until the Zeta-tubes sounded out Kaldur's arrival from his Atlantian home. Did he know? Was he going to find out? Perhaps the most important question—what would he do _when_ he found out?

"We have a task. Suit up." Kaldur commanded.

...

"No, we have to move her." Wonder Woman asserted.

"I agree. We're not going to use her as bait." Superman shook his head.

"And where do you purpose we stash her?" Batman rolled his eyes.

"I think I might know a place," Wonder Woman smiled, a peculiar look in her eyes.


	27. Epilogue

"Amazons do not usually make exceptions to their rules," Kaldur mused teasingly as he looked into her green eyes.

She shrugged back. "Technically, this isn't the shore...it's still the ocean so we're still in your waters," Cailan joked back.

Their time apart had made them shy, like a pale bloom to a spring rose. His courting had become...long distance and they'd done so much growing between them that it was as if they'd started over.

"Cailan," his voice was low and serious as they walked with the waves lapping against their calfs.

"Hm?" she asked quietly, knowing that that tone was serious and that something big was about to come.

"...Do you still have that anklet?" he asked her, catching her off guard.

"Of course...I've never taken it off,"

"Did I ever tell you it was Atlantian?"

"Uhm...I think once..."

"Did I tell you what it meant?" his hand brushed against hers and she looked away to hide her blush; he caught the shake of her head and continued. "It is a gift of betrothal. A suitor will make it for his intended. The shells, the colors, the string...the pattern is all special between the suitor and his intended."

"Do you remember when I gave it to you?" he asked next, taking her hand.

"We were kids..."

"Yes."

She laughed. "I think we'd known each other for all of a week..."

"And then you disappeared," he said, stopping and looking at her.

Cailan's hair had grown back out in the time she'd been away, long again and plain, the way she liked it. She had regained much of her strength as well, in great thanks to the Amazons-their herbal and healing skills went beyond the medicines of man's world. Some of her scars had healed, other's were all too visible and some were faded marks that almost weren't there. He thought back to the innocent child he'd been when he gave her the token, thought of the innocent babe she'd been when she'd received it.

"But you found me," she said, tilting her head into the hand that hesitated just along the side of her face.

"Cailan," her green eyes met his for just a moment before her new shyness forced them away. "When I made that I had every intention of wedding the one I gave it to. Those intentions have not changed,"

"...you're sure you want me...?" she pulled away.

Kaldur reached for her and took her arms. "Why would I not?"

"But...I'm...what happened...and you're...we're not..." she half whispered, trying to find the words to sum up everything that had surmounted against them.

He could list them in his head: she was under League-Witness Protection, she'd been tortured and once rescued they'd been separated almost to the point of excommunication, and the biggest mountain of all: he was Atlantian and she was a human.

"We have time, plenty of time to find a way. Do you remember my promise?" he said, drawing her into his chest.

"Of course. It's always whispering in my heart to keep me going Kaldur, I'd never let myself forget it." Cailan nuzzled into his neck.

"Then do not worry over what I must tell you," he felt her tense against him but didn't let her withdraw her body.

"Kal-"

"There is something I must do, something dangerous. I am the only one who can. However...it involves a deep cover...one that is known by two others alone. I must do things to keep up the appearance. And, you will hear things-much from the Amazons, and perhaps should you return to the mainlands, you might hear much from our friends as well. They willl be hard to hear, harder to believe.

"I want you to know that no matter how grim it might look, or how bad I may be portrayed in the times to come, it is not true. It is not who I am nor is it who I will become. It is only a mask I must wear for the good of my team and the safety of my friends.

"And..." his voice got quieter and he held her tighter. "I will not be able to see you for some time. How long, I am uncertain. But Cailan I will come back for you, no matter what happens, no matter where you go as long as you wear that anklet I will know I must find you."

He heard the sadness on her voice as she jested with him in reply. "And here I thought I'd have to ask the Amazon's to sew me a wedding dress,"

When he looked at her her eyes were glistening with tears and her smile quivered up at him.

He kissed her forehead.

"Do not dismiss that thought just yet, it would be a sight indeed to see a wedding dress made by Amazonian hands. To see you in it would be a sight beyond that,"

"I'll wait here for you," she said, her voice much more solid than her eyes.

"Cailan-"

"No. I'm going to wait here, secluded from everything until you come back," she said; he heard the vow on her voice.

"Then you have made my task of finding you again all the easier."

"...I guess...now we say goodbye?" she asked, her voice hushed again, hard for him to hear above the waves.

"For this moment, I suppose we do,"

"Be careful Kaldur," she kissed his hand as he turned from her.

"I will come back Cailan, I love you."

A/N:

The idea for this epilogue just came to me. It also lead into an idea for a possible sequal to Codename: Cailan, for anyone who might be interested in reading one. :] let me know what you think!

Also, if you'd like to meet Cailan and see what she looks like, you can go to this website:

"Amazons do not usually make exceptions to their rules," Kaldur mused teasingly as he looked into her green eyes.

She shrugged back. "Technically, this isn't the shore...it's still the ocean so we're still in your waters," Cailan joked back.

Their time apart had made them shy, like a pale bloom to a spring rose. His courting had become...long distance and they'd done so much growing between them that it was as if they'd started over.

"Cailan," his voice was low and serious as they walked with the waves lapping against their calfs.

"Hm?" she asked quietly, knowing that that tone was serious and that something big was about to come.

"...Do you still have that anklet?" he asked her, catching her off guard.

"Of course...I've never taken it off,"

"Did I ever tell you it was Atlantian?"

"Uhm...I think once..."

"Did I tell you what it meant?" his hand brushed against hers and she looked away to hide her blush; he caught the shake of her head and continued. "It is a gift of betrothal. A suitor will make it for his intended. The shells, the colors, the string...the pattern is all special between the suitor and his intended."

"Do you remember when I gave it to you?" he asked next, taking her hand.

"We were kids..."

"Yes."

She laughed. "I think we'd known each other for all of a week..."

"And then you disappeared," he said, stopping and looking at her.

Cailan's hair had grown back out in the time she'd been away, long again and plain, the way she liked it. She had regained much of her strength as well, in great thanks to the Amazons-their herbal and healing skills went beyond the medicines of man's world. Some of her scars had healed, other's were all too visible and some were faded marks that almost weren't there. He thought back to the innocent child he'd been when he gave her the token, thought of the innocent babe she'd been when she'd received it.

"But you found me," she said, tilting her head into the hand that hesitated just along the side of her face.

"Cailan," her green eyes met his for just a moment before her new shyness forced them away. "When I made that I had every intention of wedding the one I gave it to. Those intentions have not changed,"

"...you're sure you want me...?" she pulled away.

Kaldur reached for her and took her arms. "Why would I not?"

"But...I'm...what happened...and you're...we're not..." she half whispered, trying to find the words to sum up everything that had surmounted against them.

He could list them in his head: she was under League-Witness Protection, she'd been tortured and once rescued they'd been separated almost to the point of excommunication, and the biggest mountain of all: he was Atlantian and she was a human.

"We have time, plenty of time to find a way. Do you remember my promise?" he said, drawing her into his chest.

"Of course. It's always whispering in my heart to keep me going Kaldur, I'd never let myself forget it." Cailan nuzzled into his neck.

"Then do not worry over what I must tell you," he felt her tense against him but didn't let her withdraw her body.

"Kal-"

"There is something I must do, something dangerous. I am the only one who can. However...it involves a deep cover...one that is known by two others alone. I must do things to keep up the appearance. And, you will hear things-much from the Amazons, and perhaps should you return to the mainlands, you might hear much from our friends as well. They willl be hard to hear, harder to believe.

"I want you to know that no matter how grim it might look, or how bad I may be portrayed in the times to come, it is not true. It is not who I am nor is it who I will become. It is only a mask I must wear for the good of my team and the safety of my friends.

"And..." his voice got quieter and he held her tighter. "I will not be able to see you for some time. How long, I am uncertain. But Cailan I will come back for you, no matter what happens, no matter where you go as long as you wear that anklet I will know I must find you."

He heard the sadness on her voice as she jested with him in reply. "And here I thought I'd have to ask the Amazon's to sew me a wedding dress,"

When he looked at her her eyes were glistening with tears and her smile quivered up at him.

He kissed her forehead.

"Do not dismiss that thought just yet, it would be a sight indeed to see a wedding dress made by Amazonian hands. To see you in it would be a sight beyond that,"

"I'll wait here for you," she said, her voice much more solid than her eyes.

"Cailan-"

"No. I'm going to wait here, secluded from everything until you come back," she said; he heard the vow on her voice.

"Then you have made my task of finding you again all the easier."

"...I guess...now we say goodbye?" she asked, her voice hushed again, hard for him to hear above the waves.

"For this moment, I suppose we do,"

"Be careful Kaldur," she kissed his hand as he turned from her.

"I will come back Cailan, I love you."

A/N:

The idea for this epilogue just came to me. It also lead into an idea for a possible sequal to Codename: Cailan, for anyone who might be interested in reading one. :] let me know what you think!

Also, if you'd like to meet Cailan and see what she looks like, you can go to this website:

: / / . / # / q

and there's Cailan! It is a rough draft however, as I have had no time to go back and fine tune her image.

Also, if anyone has had the notion to draw her or write about her or whathaveyou, I'd love love love to see/read/experience your work on her! :] pm me with the links to your own works! 3 much love and thanks for reading this story!


	28. Preview: Reclaiming Atlantis

_**A/N: Here's a little teaser of what's to come in the new year. Please review with what you think, want, hope, everything. I want to hear from you, and please keep in mind that reviews will effect the length and outcome of the sequel :] the more positive reviews the faster and better the story will be. **_

It was dim and dark and cold. However what stood out the most wasn't how bleak the world looked in this moment. What stood out wasn't how a blackened veil had come over her sight obscuring the visages of existence around her. What stood out wasn't her pale pallor, or the frigid, congealing blood slugging through her veins.

What stood out above and most of all that night was the surreal, and if it might be said poetic, way the world was falling apart around her. It was this harmonized feeling of destruction and ethereal beauty that made her heart beat viscously against her ribs and her breath halt in her lungs. It was as if she could see the words penned out describing the demolition of the city letter by letter.

She didn't feel her feet against the paved smooth paths as she fled. But she saw the bodies. She tried not to, but her eyes became cameras and she couldn't ignore the images they captured. Bodies strewn everywhere, decapitated, torn, mutilated bodies; amputated limbs, blood floating in hazy clouds and pooling in the stones, this all swam through her eyes as she ran.

This once beautiful city, one she'd dreamt of and imagined, one she'd seen only in fairy tales, was trembling to ash before her eyes. Dully she thought, it was like a broken heart to behold.

But what chilled her the most wasn't any of the sights. It wasn't anything she'd yet experienced. What truly struck a chord of terror into her soul wasn't the carnage or the destruction. What resonated fear into her being was the symphony of screams. And, how oddly enough, they weren't her own.


End file.
